Other Options
by melniewn
Summary: Not every teacher at Shermer saw students as the cliques they hung out with or their stereotypes.  Rated T for language and the like.
1. Chapter 1

Other possibilities

Disclaimer: I don't own any part of the Breakfast Club. I don't make any money off this, it's all in good fun and hopefully for good reading.

Sarah Dearing loved most parts of her job as an English teacher at Shermer High School. This was her second year teaching there, and there were definite pluses and minuses to the job. Her biggest problem with the school was Richard Vernon, vice principal. Sarah thought he was an arrogant prick with a chip on his shoulder. So she was not pleased when he came to her room one Friday afternoon in early February as she was grading papers.

"Afternoon Sarah," Vernon stated.

She looked up and put her pen down, "Mr. Vernon," she did not want him being familiar enough with her to use her first name. "What can I do for you?"

"Straight to the point, good, good. Well I need you to handle detention tomorrow." Vernon informed her.

Sarah shrugged, "Ok, how many students will be there?"

Vernon was ready to coerce her into it with subtle threats about her potential tenure and was quite surprised at her ready agreement. "Uhm, three or four, I think." He handed her a paper with three names on it and left without another word, much to Sarah's glee.

The next morning Sarah arrived a little bleary eyed at 7AM. She decided she shouldn't have finished off that bottle of Merlot the night before, but what was done was done. She looked at the list and then at the students. George Smithers was an average student who had the bad luck to be caught smoking in the bathroom. Tom Strickler, a relatively handsome football player; however, he was an arrogant bully. Finally John Bender, when he showed up to her class she could tell he was much smarter than he let on, but he didn't attend class for some reason. The other two were also in classes with her; she really liked two of the three of them.

While most teachers thought of George as a rich prep who was bright and smart; he was rarely ready for English class, and he didn't appear to care. John Bender was obviously hiding beneath his smart ass attitude. Sarah was pretty sure she knew why, but without his testament she had no way of proving her suspicions. And finally Tom Strickler, one of the few students she truly disliked. He was a star football player which meant teachers and students kissed his ass. Sarah had little patience for someone who believed he could get by on looks and sports, not to mention she was just a little afraid of him – he was a dangerous boy when he didn't get exactly what he wanted exactly when he demanded it. She knew most teachers and students alike made the assumption that Bender was the more dangerous of the two boys. Sarah had paid close attention to what happened in the halls and Bender generally didn't inflict physical harm unless he was pushed beyond provocation – Tom on the other hand just seemed a little sadistic.

She sat on the table putting her feet on the chair in front of her. "Good Morning Boys." They all stared at her a little since they'd all been expecting. "Vice principal Vernon will not be joining us today. However, I'll be here keeping an eye on things. Feel free to do as you like while remaining in your seats." She smiled at them and went to sit at the librarian's desk. She took a long drink of her coffee and pulled out a stack of papers to finish

All three of them stared at her for a moment and realized she wasn't going to leave like Vernon always did. Without looking up Sarah replied to George's raised hand, "Uh, Mrs. Dearing?"

"It's Miss Dearing I'm not married." She looked up, "yes George?"

Bender interrupted at that point, "How the hell do you do that?"

Sarah ignored John for the moment and continued waiting for George to speak. "uhm, can I do homework?"

The teacher arched an eyebrow and smirked just a little, "I don't know dear, _can_ you? If you find you are capable of doing said work, feel free." She winked at him, which caused him to blush. He tried to cover it by diving for his backpack. Sarah turned her attention to Bender, "How the hell do I do what?"

Bender was a little taken back that she not only remembered he asked something and answered him, but that she used his exact words. "That whole answering shit without looking up to see that a person even had a question; you know all teachers do it."

Sarah's smirk came back, "we're psychic, didn't you know?" With that answer she returned to grading her papers.

Bender pulled out a cigarette and a match, he brought it up to his mouth to light it on his teeth when Sarah spoke, again never looking up from her papers, "I suggest you put your matches away Mr. Bender, and for the time being I would prefer you refrain from pyrotechnics; I dislike the smell of sulphur in the morning."

"yeah dickhead, put that shit away before I do it for you." Strickler whispered menacingly.

"Isn't being a threatening bully what got you here in the first place, Mr. Strickler?" Sarah asked loudly enough he could be certain she heard his comments.

For a while everything was quiet, Tom put his head down on his letterman jacket; John was drawing on his pant leg, and George was doing homework. Sarah stood up and stretched, she noticed John was watching her – she arched an eyebrow as if to ask him a question – one he didn't understand. She walked down the steps to stand in front of the library tables the students were sitting at. She cleared her throat loudly, hoping to wake Strickler without having to go anywhere near him. "Do any of you need a bathroom break?" Tom sat up quickly and raised his hand along with the other two. "Alright, you have 10 minutes."

They stared at her for a minute and George said, "you're just going to let us walk out?"

Sarah laughed, "I'm fairly certain you know the way to the men's bathroom better than I do. Or is there something you're not telling me?"

George and Tom got up quickly and hurried out the door, Bender sat there for a minute trying to figure something out about Sarah Dearing. "You aren't going to get to finish a cigarette if you don't scoot John." With that, she turned and walked out of the library, she passed the women's restroom and walked out the front door, holding it open for John; though he had no idea how she knew he was following her.

She walked far enough away to block the view from the doors, sat down on the steps, pulled out a cigarette and lit it. Taking a deep drag off of it, "Are you going to stare at me all day Mr. Bender? Have I grown a second head?"

John walked over and sat down on the same step, but not really close to her. "I didn't know you smoked."

"You still don't know I smoke." She gave him a sidelong glance to see if he understood.

He laughed, "gotcha, Miss Dearing. So, uh, how come you got stuck with us today?"

Sarah took another deep drag off her cigarette and blew out the smoke before answering, "Because Vernon asked me to. Are you missing him that much?"

John barked out a laugh, "hell no! He's a fuckin douchebag…" He stopped himself before he said any more assuming what he said would get him in trouble.

"I had no other plans for the day and it's an extra day's pay for me. I don't mind keeping an eye on you "delinquents"." She even used the fake quotes around delinquents, as though she didn't believe they were. John suddenly wondered if she were somehow different from the other adults at the school.

Sarah pitched her cigarette and stood up. "Let's go" she started walking to the door. John continued smoking his cigarette right up to the door following her through. "Thanks" he said quietly and quickly moved ahead of her to get to the library first.

Everyone had been settled for a little while when Sarah heard Strickler start again, "You are such a waste of fucking oxygen Bender. The fact that I have to sit in the same room as you all day makes me fucking sick. Just know I am going to kick the shit out of you when we get out of here today, just because I think it would be fun to beat you to a bloody fuckin pulp."

While Sarah heard every word, she waited to see Bender's reaction before she intervened.

Bender sounded bored as he replied, "Look man I wish you wouldn't, see I just washed my coat and getting your blood out of it would be a hassle."

Strickler grabbed John's hair and pulled him back, "What did you fucking say to me you pathetic nothing?"

As John went for his knife Sarah shouted, "Mr. Strickler let go of Bender NOW." She was pissed, and she sounded it. Strickler let go quickly, and in his best ass kissing voice said, "I was just trying to help him get something out of it."

"Do you think I am deaf or stupid Mr. Strickler? For the moment you are to move up to this desk." She pointed to the table at the very front and to her right. "I heard every word you said and between threatening another student and laying a hand on him, I am pretty sure you are going to find yourself suspended come Monday." She started to turn away when Tom replied with a strangled voice,

"You can't do that, the team needs me, and anyway it's just John Bender… who cares really? I mean Miss Dearing you know he's just a stupid burner who will never amount to anything… Nobody's gonna care what I said to him, even if we fight it'll still look like his fault." He sounded smug.

Sarah wasn't sure which pissed her off more, the fact that people were really such assholes or that they expected her to be one as well. "Mr. Bender has as much right to be left alone as Mr. Smithers, or you Mr. Strickler. He has the same potential, though now that I think about it, he might have more since you are apparently a moron. Unless you have a magical way of seeing into the future you cannot know what he will or will not amount to. To be such a colossal jerk is really a feat, and I do not tolerate disrespect of myself or anyone else in my presence. Do you understand Mr. Strickler?" Sarah struggled to keep her temper, she started to walk away. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the shocked look on John Bender's face, and that just pissed her off more.

She turned back to the students as she reached the door, "If I should find out that you or any of your little friends laid a finger on Bender for the rest of the year I will hold you personally accountable just because you pissed me off this morning. Now sit there and keep your fucking mouth shut Strickler." With that she turned and walked out of the library to calm herself down.

She walked down to the teacher's lounge, bought herself a soda, and proceeded to go back outside for another cigarette. She knew she shouldn't have lost her temper back there, but there was something about Tom Strickler that just rubbed her the wrong way. Though that was not even her biggest problem, it was more the stunned look on Bender's face, as though it was a total surprise that anyone, let alone an adult should take his side in anything. She remembered feeling that way and it sucked. She finished the cigarette feeling somewhat calmer, and decided she should probably head back inside. Heading back into the teacher's lounge she purchased three cans of coke for the student's lunch and went back to the library.

The rest of the day went by with relative speed and ease; at least there was nothing exciting that happened, unless you counted finishing her grading. In fact, the next few weeks were pretty tame, the winter continued to hold its grip on Shermer even though it seemed as though the entire school was winding up to prom and all the end of year activities. Sarah discovered she got the position teaching summer school which was a big relief; she hated having to find jobs for the summer.

Bender started attending her class on a fairly regular basis, and even appeared to pay attention; though, she had to laugh, not enough to ruin his reputation as a bad ass. He did, however, do his homework, which shocked Sarah to no end. One day in late in February he walked in looking stiff, walking with a slight limp that he was trying to cover with an exaggerated swagger and when he turned around he had one hell of a black eye. She turned to the board, took several deep breaths and willed herself to remain cool; he did not need her flipping out. She remembered the days she spent time putting makeup on to cover bruises and black eyes; it was a lifetime ago, but those memories never went away.

Once she calmed herself, she sat down at her desk, instead of going to the door like she usually did, and began writing. As the bell rang she folded the note and put it to the side. Class was relatively subdued; probably because only about half of them had read the chapter they were assigned. The bell rang and Sarah took a deep breath, she needed a break, for some reason the day was just hard to get through.

"Bender, can you hang back for a moment?" he gave her a peculiar look but stayed in his seat till all the students filed out. She had a break in her classes this period which was why she felt at least semi-comfortable doing what she was about to. He started to get up, but she motioned for him to stay put and walked over to him after shutting the door. She sat on the desk in front of him her feet on the chair, and handed him the note she'd written earlier. "Don't read that now, and you may feel free to disregard any information in it. I trust you to keep what is in the note to yourself." She took another deep breath as he continued to stare at her saying nothing. "All I want to say is this, others at this school might believe you get into random fights regularly." She stopped herself before she said something wrong, but was determined to get through it… "If I am correct about your life, which I know nothing particular about, I haven't read any file or asked any questions, but if I am… I've been there. What's in the note? No strings attached." She got up and walked quickly to her desk, pulled on a sweater, opened her desk drawer and put a pack of cigarettes in her pocket. "Thanks for sticking around and listening. This room is empty this period, feel free to stay as long as you like." She started to leave, then turned back, opened her desk and wrote out a hall pass, placed it on the desk she'd been sitting on, and left the room shutting the door behind her without another word.

Bender was floored. What did she mean she'd been there? He looked at the note in his hand it was a simple piece of folded paper. After another minute of looking at the paper he opened it to find Sarah Dearing's neat handwriting:

_John, I don't know why you show up battered and bruised. It's probably none of my business, but if you ever need a place to stay my back door is always open, 3211 Northridge Ln. There is an extra bedroom- first door on the left in the hallway. The fridge always has food in it,__ always__. So much I often end up throwing things away because I just don't eat that much. Thing is, I cannot help but make sure there is food because I can. All I can say is my door is always open to you. _

_Sarah Dearing_

John didn't know what to think. He folded the paper back up and stuck it in his wallet. Someplace he couldn't accidently drop or forget it. Why would she do this? It didn't look like pity on her faced, it actually looked like she was pissed. John shook his head and started out of the room wondering about his English teacher.

Please, please read and review….


	2. Chapter 2

Sarah wasn't sure what she was expecting, but it had been a couple of weeks since she'd given John the note. Neither of them mentioned it and she was determined to leave him alone, no matter how worried she was. It continued that way until late one Sunday night in early March she heard her back door open. It was almost midnight, but she was up finishing up some grading when she heard it. The kitchen light was off, so it might look like no one was home. She wondered if she was being robbed, when from the kitchen door she recognized John Bender. He looked like he'd been through hell.

"Good evening John."

Bender jumped about a foot, then winced. "uh, hi… I, like, didn't know you were up… I, uh… I'll just go.."

Sarah stood up, "don't you dare. Just because you suck at sneaking doesn't mean I'm gonna let you go without cleaning up those wounds and feeding you." She tried to sound friendly, but wasn't sure she didn't sound like someone's mom.

Bender stared at her for a moment, then shrugged and winced again.

Sarah walked up to him, he wasn't wearing a coat and there was blood on his t-shirt. "Why not have a seat here in the kitchen," she said reaching around him to turn the light on. "I'll be right back." She moved quickly to her storage/linen closet and collected some gauze, antiseptic, band-aids, and after rummaging for a moment she found her old rib brace. She dropped it all into a small wicker basket and moved down the hall to her room. She liked to wear men's t-shirts to work around the house in and she thought one might fit Bender. She searched through her dresser for a moment and found a large, long sleeved black shirt. With all the supplies she thought she might need she headed back to the kitchen at a jog afraid he'd be gone when she got there.

Much to her pleasure he was still sitting at the table, looking a little stunned, a lot tired, and very beaten. She set the basket on another chair. "would you prefer a shower or some food before I see to that cut?"

He stared at her as though he wasn't sure she was real, "uhm… a shower maybe?" She grabbed the black thermal shirt and handed it to him. "I think that should fit, that way I can maybe get the blood out of the one you're wearing." She looked down, almost embarrassed; he might wonder why she had men's clothes.

Needing some kind of normality John smirked before standing, "Buying me clothes already Miss Dearing?" He stood carefully, not sure if he should push her, since she was being so nice to him.

Sarah laughed, "yeah, I went shopping for you when I was in college Bender. It's an old thermal, I like to stay warm, sue me. The bathroom is first door on the right; there are towels in the closet inside the bathroom. Do you like soup?"

Bender stopped as he reached the hallway, "I like pretty much anything edible Miss Dearing," with that he headed to her bathroom. The house was small, but it was neat and clean. After the shower he felt a little better since it had been a few days since he'd had one; the shower at his house looked like a bum had been living in it and there wasn't anything to clean it with. He pulled on the thermal she gave him and it was actually a little big and quite comfortable. He made his way back to the kitchen, trying to figure out what the smell coming from the kitchen was.

Sarah Dearing looked up as he came in the room, "good it fits. Uhm, I just threw some fresh biscuits in the oven and uh, I just put the stew I made earlier back on the stove. Will that be ok?"

John looked incredulous, "you didn't have to go to all that trouble Miss Dearing. I mean, I don't even have to eat."

Sarah looked him over carefully and interrupted him, "Stop it. You are entirely too skinny and I never get to feed people." She smiled at him, "Don't suppose you'll let me look at your injuries while the biscuits are cooking?" She stood across the kitchen from him, trying desperately not to push him.

John shrugged, then winced and sat down. "I guess, don't know what you can do."

"Let me see", Sarah knelt down and reached out to touch his ribs, he started to flinch away but stopped himself determined to let her be nice to him as long as she was willing. She felt the ribs working her way down on both sides. "Well you are in luck; I don't think any of them are broken. She reached back to the basket and got the rib brace; however, I think this will help you move a little better. She wrapped the brace around him and fastened it. "How does that feel?"

John took a deep breath and with a note of surprise in his voice said, "better. Thanks." She then reached up to move his hair away from the cut above his eye. It had stopped bleeding, and the shower had cleared away the blood. "I don't think I need to do anything to this, it looked worse before." As she stood a timer went off and she turned to open the oven. She stirred the soup and placed the baking pan on the stove.

She poured some of the soup into a large bowl, put two biscuits on a plate and set it all in front of John. Sarah then put a couple of biscuits on a plate of her own, put butter, and some jam on the table. "Would you like something to drink? Milk? Water? Tea?" Sarah was standing in front of the open refrigerator. She opened the freezer and put some ice in a glass and filled it with water from the tap. "John?"

He shook his head as if to clear it, "uh… Milk please." He stared at her, as if she was a hallucination.

Sarah poured a glass of milk, and set it down in front of John. She then sat in the chair opposite Bender and without looking at him began buttering her biscuit and adding a spoon full of jam on it. After taking a bite, she looked at him again… he hadn't touched his food.

"Bender, please eat something – it will make you feel better." He nodded, and began eating. He put his arm around the plate and started shoveling food into his mouth. "Fuck, this is really good," he said with a mouth full of food.

"Thanks, I like to think I'm a pretty good cook. However, I promise you can have all you want, and no one will take your food away. You should slow down a little or you'll never get to sleep tonight." Bender looked terribly embarrassed. "It's all good John, I know what it's like to be hungry." That statement made him look at her again before returning to the excellent food in front of him.

He cleared his bowl, ate the biscuits and down the milk. Sarah made absolutely certain not to stare or even really look at him while he was eating. She remembered how embarrassed she used to be to eat in front of anyone. She got up, opened the window above the sink, which was handy when she didn't want to go outside to smoke. When she returned to the table John looked contentedly full. "Can I ask you a question?"

Sarah lit a cigarette and offered one to Bender who took it gratefully. "Sure, I might even answer."

He smirked at her, "Ok if we're being technical and all, why are you doing this… and what did you mean when you said you'd been here… I guess, like, in the same kind of situation I'm in." He decided to stop there and hoped like hell she understood what he was asking.

Sarah took a few deep drags off her cigarette. "I'm helping you because you are worth it, and maybe I can add a positive note to what appears to be a seriously fucked up life." He started to get pissed off and interrupt her. She held her hand up in the universal sign for stop. "As for the second part of your question; that's much more complicated." She took a deep breath and sipped her cold coffee.

"I'm honestly not sure where to begin." She pushed her sleeves up, something she never did at school. John noticed scars up and down her arms; a few of them looked suspiciously like the cigar burn on his arm. He looked away, back down at his empty bowl. "Would you like some more?"

Bender shook his head, "Thanks, it was really good, but I don't think I should eat any more before sleep. And well, uhm.. you don't have to explain, I ain't blind… or stupid." He half smirked remembering what she said to Strickler weeks before. Sarah stood up, took the dishes to the sink, and turned around. "It's pretty late, and school starts pretty early. I am headed to bed. The guest room is yours anytime you need it John."

He followed her to the hallway, "uh, thanks again," with that he turned into the bedroom and threw himself down on the bed. It was warm and comfortable and he was asleep almost instantly. After a few moments later Sarah settled down into her own bed, but had trouble falling asleep. She couldn't help but wonder how desperate the boy down the hall must have been to show up at her door. Sleep found her soon enough, but her alarm seemed to go off minutes later.

It was 5:30am and Sarah dragged herself out of bed, pulled her robe on and stumbled to the kitchen to start coffee. In her morning fog she'd completely forgotten about Bender asleep in the guest room. 45 minutes or so later she was sitting in her kitchen drinking her second cup of coffee when John came carefully into the kitchen, wondering if he should just slip out. He jumped as he heard, "If you drink coffee there some fresh in the pot. I don't have much for breakfast since I don't normally eat it, but there are a few biscuits left from last night on the counter, and do you want a ride to school?"

"Nah, I'll walk… but uh, I wouldn't mind some coffee." She pointed to the pot and the cup in front of it. Bender grabbed the coffee cup set in front of the coffee pot, and one of the biscuits. He sat down at the table across from Sarah, not sure what to do or say.

Sarah nodded to him as she walked into the living room to pack up her stuff, "feel free to keep the brace for a few days - I haven't used it in a long time." He nodded and quietly said, "thanks."

"I'm taking off, since teachers are actually supposed to be early. You can leave via the back door so you needn't worry about locking up." Sarah walked out the back door, and left John sitting in her kitchen. He didn't quite know how to handle the situation; no one had ever just trusted him like this. And he wasn't sure Sarah Dearing should. After finishing up a second cup of coffee, he turned the coffee pot off, washed out his cup and her dishes before leaving.

John didn't notice who was in the car passing by as he let himself out the back gate. But Tom Strickler noticed Bender. Strickler knew whose house it was too, he and some buddies had considered egging the place after she'd been such a bitch to him in detention. He found it very interesting that Bender was leaving like he owned the place. A plan began to form in Strickler's mind, a way to get back at the bitch and maybe even get her to leave the school entirely. He was flunking her class and coach said if he didn't bring his grade up he'd be off the team.


	3. Chapter 3

John began coming by about once a week, sometimes more often depending on how bad his old man was. The Sunday after his detention with the Breakfast Club he went to Sarah's cause well, he needed a shower and wanted a good night's sleep before school that Monday. As had become habit, Sarah gave him a good meal and didn't ask any questions. He needed the peace her small house seemed to offer.

Strickler drove by the house each day, he'd started bringing a camera along just in case he saw Bender again, and he noticed that Bender seemed to come in and out with an alarming regularity. He'd snapped a few pictures of Bender walking down Miss Dearing's driveway. He decided perhaps he needed to have a little chat with the bitch of an English teacher who could let scum like Bender around her, he decided she was probably fucking him, and yet she was flunking him and fucking up his record at school. He needed to talk to his boys; they'd be into it; he knew a few of them weren't doing too well in her class either.

It was mid march and the school year seemed to be flying by. Sarah was finishing up some work in her office before she headed out. She decided if she finished all her work by staying a little late at school she wouldn't have to carry it all home, and she could have the evening off. It was only Wednesday and she was feeling ahead of the ball, having her lessons planned not only for the rest of the week but next week too. She jumped, a little startled when her door opened at 3:30 – more than 30 minutes after school let out. Looking up she saw Tom Strickler leaning arrogantly against a desk in front of her. "Afternoon, Mr. Strickler, what can I do for you?"

He pulled some pictures out of his pocket and threw them on her desk, and then he crossed his arms, "well for starters you can give me an A in your class," he stated with a smug tone in his voice.

Sarah picked up the pictures, each one was of Bender walking down her driveway; however, she also noted they were fairly blurry and there was no house number in the pictures. She threw the pictures towards the front of her desk, closer to Strickler. "Why on earth would I give you an A in a class you are failing because you neither attend nor complete any of the homework in?"

Strickler started to get pissed, "Since you are obviously fucking that scumbag who leaves your house so regularly, as those pictures show."

Sarah choked on the coffee she had just taken a sip of and covered her mouth so it didn't spew all over the papers she was working on. "I'm What?"

Tom Strickler stood up to his full height of 6'2 and sneered at her. He hated faggot hippy

teachers who thought they were going to save the fucking under privileged while ignoring those

people who could actually help her like his old man. "You heard me you fucking whore. I see him leaving your house regularly, and those pictures prove it."

Sarah stood up, and in her firmest 'teacher voice' she replied, "All those pictures prove is that you have an unhealthy obsession with Mr. Bender. I have never laid an inappropriate hand on a student, nor will I ever. So you can take your gutter mind the hell out of my classroom. And by the way, the only way to pass my class is to fucking attend it and do the work. You do neither; therefore it is likely you will fail. Now, GET. OUT." She remained standing, staring at him; she was not going to show any weakness before this bully no matter how much he frightened her.

This chapter is a little shorter than the others but I promise it's a build up… please read and review.. it keeps my muse happy.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own any part of the breakfast club…. This chapter has graphic violence and attempted rape in it.

The following Friday afternoon found Sarah Dearing in a pretty good mood, since she was watching the Saturday detention she didn't have to carry a lot of paperwork home. She was thinking of maybe asking Bender if he'd be willing to help her clean up her lawn for a few bucks. She'd gotten to know John pretty well over the last weeks, and interestingly he seemed to be trying especially hard this week. Sarah was glad he seemed to have found a group of friends who actually cared more about him then the drugs he could provide. His attitude was still pretty rebellious, but something was different. She didn't know if it was because of his new associates, Claire Standish, in particular or because something she had done made a difference, but she wasn't sure she cared. He was only mildly disruptive and his commentary was often witty and peculiarly apt. She was lost in her thoughts as she walked out the side entrance of the school, but she found her way blocked by students. "Excuse me" she asked politely, without looking up initially.

Tom Strickler and several of his cohorts suddenly surrounded her. Strickler leaned into her personal space and menacingly whispered in her ear, "you are a fat, ugly bitch but I think we just might rape you anyway and then beat the shit out of you" He moved just far enough away to deliver a powerful backhand to her face and proceeded to rip her shirt open. "Guess what, I talked to Principal Vernon. He said I could do anything I wanted to your burnout pet. He also said you were apparently a fuckin moron to think anyone would, or should stick up for him." Strickler was roughly squeezing one of her breasts while he talked, when he finished talking he punched her in the stomach hard enough to knock her into one of the guys standing behind her. Instead of just catching her, he grabbed her ass and squeezed hard then he shoved her back towards Strickler who punched her in the left eye. "We're all in practice right now, so no one will believe we had anything to do with this. Do you understand Sarah?" He spit her name as though it were an insult. "You cannot stop us from doing anything we want. And I figure since you're fucking that burnout scum we should get a little too." He shoved his hand up her skirt and roughly grabbed her between the legs.

Sarah didn't understand what was going on, she was dizzy and in a lot of pain. One of the guys behind her grabbed her arms and pulled them behind her back, pulling hard enough that she felt her shoulder pop out of place, at the same time Strickler shoved one of his fingers inside of her, it was pure agony for Sarah who was so dry and tight that even the finger tore her fragile flesh. Sarah screamed and instantly there was a hand covering her mouth. The guys holding her began moving back towards the stairs which led down to the shop area. He pulled his finger out of her, which caused her momentary relief until he punched her several times in the side, when she slumped down, the guy behind her shoved his hand into her skirt and roughly squeezed her ass, then he shoved his finger into her just like Strickler had moments before, "damn this bitch is fuckin' tight, she's gonna be great fucking fun to break," he pulled his hand out of her to drag her backwards against him causing excruciating pain in her shoulder.

Strickler grabbed her by her hair again, jerking her head back to look at him as he roughly plunged his finger in and out of her some more, then he spit in her face. "I think you are going to fuck us all, and then you are going to give us all A's unless you like us fucking you so much that you want it to become regular, just like your boytoy burnout." Sarah tried screaming, but the hand covering her mouth pulled back tightly causing her pain from the injuries Strickler had already caused.

She tried to consider her options and bit the hand covering her mouth; even with tears streaming down her face she tried to be brave. She kicked out at Strickler, landing a solid blow to his thigh which caused him to jerk away. She succeeded in getting his hands away from her. However, he punched her in the side again, this time with all his strength – causing the guy who was holding her to stumble down the steps and drop her. She pulled herself into a ball and let herself fall down the steps hoping she could get away from them. Strickler spit on her again, but started down the steps towards her, "excellent, this stupid bitch is even giving us some privacy." As she reached the bottom one of the boys kicked her in the back and then in the head. Strickler smacked him on the head as he started unbuttoning his pants, "Fuckin stop, we want her awake to enjoy the fucking don't we?"

As those words left his mouth, there were suddenly a lot more students there, but they were pulling the football players away from the injured teacher. The jocks began running away one by one. Sarah crawled to the top of the steps, in agony. Someone was punching Strickler, who was on the ground… and from what felt like a distance she heard, "John… stop, he's had enough. He needs to be alive for the cops."

Sarah looked up and saw her unlikely heroes – Claire Standish, John Bender, Andrew Clark, Allison Reynolds, and Brian Johnson. She shook her head to try clearing it, only to discover what a mistake that was – it made the ringing in her ear and pain in her cheekbone much worse. To her embarrassment tears continued to stream down her cheeks and she began to shake. Suddenly Bender and Claire were much closer to her. "Are you ok Miss Dearing?" Clair asked.

"Kind of a dumb question princess, does she look alright," this, from John Bender who began speaking very gently to her. "Miss Dearing…Sarah, look at me please." He put his fingers beneath her chin and turned her head to look at the cut that had apparently come from Strickler punching her. "I think you need to go to the hospital. Miss Dearing?" With a bit more force he said, "Sarah, look at me."

She had no choice but to look up at him, though it was through a fog. Her left eye was blurred and her head was ringing. "Just help me to my car and I'll be fine."

"Bullshit." Allison said. "Let us help you."

Slowly shaking her head, pulling away from Bender's hand, she used the railing to attempt standing, but when she put her weight on her right ankle there was a shooting pain so bad she screamed and started to fall. Andy caught her, which caused her to moan and nearly pass out from the pain in her sides and back. "Hey there, no falling." He was looking for a place to set her down. Allison noticed a chair sitting by the back of the cafeteria and ran over to grab it. The breakfast club looked at one another wondering how this could happen to a teacher.

Bender helped her into the chair and suddenly Andrew Clark was pulling her boot off, putting pressure on various points of her ankle. She tried not to scream but she couldn't stop shaking. Andy quietly reported, "uh, I'm sorry, but I think it might be broken." He looked up with regret on his face.

Sarah did her best to pull herself together, "I'm pretty sure nearly everyone has left for the day, but could one of you check the office for me?" Brian nodded and took off before he could even say, "sure."

"You all must think I am a weakling, but thank you for your help. I am sure I'll be fine if I just sit here for a moment. I don't want you to get in trouble." She was shaking so badly she had trouble getting her cigarettes out of her pocket and then they immediately dropped. John pulled one out of his pack and handed it to her along with his lighter. He then picked up her pack, walked over to her bag which had dropped when the boys grabbed her and dropped the pack into the bag as he sat it next to her. She whimpered as she saw Strickler begin to come around. "He was spouting nonsense." Claire walked over and kicked him in the head, knocking him out again. Bender smiled at Claire, "I thought we wanted him alive for the cops."

"That should take care of him waking up for a bit." Claire said with a bit of smugness in her voice. Sarah was so startled that she began to laugh a little, but gasped when it hurt her sore stomach.

Andy and Bender almost in unison said, "You are really brave." They stopped and looked at one another then shrugged. Bender continued, "It was 6 football players to one teacher, really don't be stupid. There's no way you were weak, I know you were fighting all the way." He looked into her eyes as he said this, whether it was true or not, she needed to hear it.

Flying out of the doors Brian was followed by Richard Vernon. Sarah put her head in her hands, desperately trying to stop the flow of tears and calm her breathing; Vernon was the last person she wanted to see. He already hated her. Claire and Allison moved to either side of her, putting their hands on her back to try and soothe their favorite teacher.

Vernon broke into a jog as he saw the students hovering around Miss Dearing. "Sarah? Are you ok, what happened?" He noticed Tom Strickler laying out cold on the concrete, he didn't seem important at the moment. He moved closer to Sarah and squatted in front of her, "Look, I know I am not your favorite person Miss Dearing, but please I need to know what happened." She was so surprised at the gentleness in his voice that she looked up at him. The cut next to her left eye had stopped bleeding, but there was wet blood down the side of her face and on her ripped shirt which she was trying to hold together, the eye was also partly blood filled and beginning to blacken. She had a split lip from the initial backhand as well as a bruise across her jaw. She was understandably still shaking.

Vernon was startled at the amount of damage he could see, "Fuck, who did this Sarah?"

She failed at holding back a sob as she pointed to Strickler, tears started streaming down her face again, and she buried it in her hands.

"I'm not sure what all happened, but I think she might have a broken ankle too Mr. Vernon." Andy said quietly.

"Look, can you all stay with her while I make a few phone calls?" At the moment it didn't even matter that John Bender was a part of this group, someone had obviously hurt one of his teachers and that didn't stand with him. "Sarah, please look at me." She looked up at Vernon, while furiously trying to wipe away the tears without causing herself more pain. She could not help but wince as she grazed the left side of her face.

"I need you to try and collect yourself. I am calling the police and an ambulance. Are you sure it was our star quarterback and not someone else?" His eyes strayed towards Bender.

Suddenly furiously angry, "Vernon, are you implying I am blind or ignorant? Yes, it was Tom Strickler who hit me multiple times, there were several of his friends surrounding me. Yes, it was Tom star fucking quarterback Strickler who threatened to _rape_ me, who tried to, who…t….touched me." She stuttered in fear of even saying what really happened aloud. "It was John Bender who pulled him away from me. It was John Bender and Andy Clark who helped me stand up after I was dropped down those stairs by friends of Tom Strickler started to run away because John Bender frightened them off. Is that clear enough for you?" She was screaming by the end of her little tirade, then her energy evaporated and she slumped back and started to sob again, unable to keep it together any more.

Claire and Allison moved to stand between her and Vernon; Clair facing Sarah stroking her hair and trying to calm her down, and Allison facing him with an absolutely murderous look on her face. Vernon returned to his office so he could quickly make phone calls. Sarah was taking deep breaths and wishing she knew anyone in this gods forsaken suburb of Chicago. There was no one to call, no one to help her if her ankle really was broken. No one knew her past and she had always liked it that way, but now she didn't know what to do.

Claire knelt down in front of Sarah, "Is there someone we can call, someone to meet you at the hospital?" Sarah shook her head and said nothing. Bender walked over to them and put his hand on her back, she looked up at him and he understood. There wasn't anyone in her life she trusted. They'd had several long talks where she'd opened up to him a little, hoping he would reciprocate – and he did, at least a little same as she did. He understood she considered him something more than just a student, but he didn't know quite how far that went.

Taking a deep, if shaky breath Sarah said, "Look, it's getting late and I don't want to keep you kids. You'll never know how grateful I am for all your help, but I'll be ok on my own. I can't promise you won't have a sub for a few days but I will be back to myself lickity split." She tried to put on a smile, but it was too painful as she reopened the wound on her mouth and failed to hold in a whimper. Andy, Brian, and Allison all headed off; Brian because he was already going to be in trouble for being late, Andy for the same reason – he had a match tomorrow and his father was going to be pissed he wasn't home yet, and Allison had promised Andy she'd spend time with him while he worked out.

Bender and Claire appeared to be leaving too. Sarah tried to stay calm at the thought of being this close to Strickler by herself, but she couldn't stop the panic rising in her chest. Bender, unaware of Sarah's problem, pulled Claire to the front of the building where Sarah wouldn't hear him. "Hon, I'm not gonna just let her go to the hospital alone. You know all the shit she's done for me this year; I can't just leave her. She really doesn't have anyone; she told me she moved here at the beginning of the school year to get away from her family, which is a lot like mine. I'm only telling you this cause I know you won't tell anyone else, but I don't want to go home anyway and I think well, maybe I can do something to repay her. Besides I don't want to leave her alone with that dick Strickler."

Claire smiled gently and put her hand up to his cheek, "you are so kind."

Bender leaned in and kissed her, "Bullshit, and if you tell anyone you'll fucking kill my reputation." All of which was said with a smile. He walked Claire to her car, kissing her thoroughly one more time before she left. He watched her drive off and made his way back to Sarah Dearing. As he approached he noticed she was shaking like a leaf and staring at nothing, her shirt was ripped and she looked like hell. Not the neat clean appearance he was used to from his teacher and sort of friend he guessed. He pulled off his coat and then the flannel. He put the coat back on, but walked up to her with the flannel in hand. "Hey Miss Dearing, why don't you put this on – it's not really your style but it should keep you a little warmer than what you have on. Miss Dearing…" When he didn't get any response, he put his hand on her shoulder, she jumped and he moved his hand quickly. "Uh, here," Bender put the shirt in front of her face.

She looked up at Bender with tears of gratitude in her eyes and quietly said, "thank you for staying John – Christ I'm not sure what I would do without you at this point. I've gotten kind of used to having you around." He wasn't sure if she was talking to him or herself because she was speaking so quietly he almost didn't hear her. She reached for the flannel and tried slipping it over her head, but it was too painful so she unbuttoned the whole thing and still had trouble lifting her arms into it. She screamed a little in both pain and frustration. "Need some help there Miss Dearing?"

"Fuck, I guess so." With a sigh she also replied, "at this point I think you can call me Sarah, at least outside of school. Ok? Specially since you apparently do it in your head anyway." John helped her into the flannel and had it buttoned up just as flashing lights from both an ambulance and a police car. John started pacing.


	5. Chapter 5

Sarah saw John grow concerned, "hey I need you to calm down hon, they're not here to bother you. They're here to help me." She had no idea how she could sound so calm and feel so fucking terrified. Sarah grabbed Bender's hand and squeezed. Within seconds Vernon came out of the building and walked over to the police officers approaching her, leaving the paramedics to pull their vehicle up close to her and jump out. John dropped her hand and moved to stand behind her.

The younger looking paramedic stopped at Strickler's prone form. "Can anyone tell me what happened to this man?" Sarah spoke before Bender could open his mouth is a smart remark. "I can't tell you sir, all I know is that he was hurting me then he wasn't. I was too busy being in shock and pain to really pay attention to what happened to my attacker, sorry." She didn't mean the statement to come out as rude and sarcastic as it did, but she wasn't sorry.

The second paramedic had come up to her and checked her eye, which was now full of blood, the cut next to it which was still bleeding, and looked at her ankle which had swollen to about three times its normal size. "Can you tell me what happened?"

"Can we wait for the police so I don't have to repeat it?" She couldn't stop the tears any more as she said this. John squeezed her shoulder to let her know he was still there; she looked at him over her shoulder with a very weak smile. As she turned back she noticed Vernon and the police officers approaching. The paramedic had walked over to his truck to get something and jogged back so he wouldn't miss pertinent information.

"Ma'am, I'm sorry you were hurt can you tell me what happened?" The officer was a very large man who was using a very gentle voice. The smaller cop next to him kept looking at Bender, "Not sure what you are doing here, but you can leave now." His voice was hard and mean. Sarah quickly grabbed John, managing only to get his jacket, doing so made her wince and whimper quietly in pain. "No, please John don't leave."

Vernon arched a brow at this, but said nothing. John put his hands on her shoulders to help her turn around, "I wasn't going anywhere Miss Dearing. Promise"

She looked at the officers with a hesitant stare, "he," she nodded at Bender, "saved me from him" and she pointed at Strickler. The older, larger man said, "ok, but we need to know what happened from the beginning. My name is Mike," he squatted down so he could look at her face which she had bowed to look down at her shaking hands. With a trembling voice and several stops when she started to panic, Bender putting his hand on her shoulder seemed to calm her breathing, and she made it through the story. Bender wanted to kill Strickler, but felt he had to keep his rage under control for Sarah Dearing, he tried to keep listening. Sarah's voice was very shaky as she continued, "I know it sounds unbelievable, but h..h..he s…s…said he could do anything he wanted to me and no one would care." This caused her to breakdown again, she wasn't sure if she should tell the police what else he said.

Mike took a deep breath and let it out with a sigh, "did he say anything else Ma'am?" She looked up at Vernon and tried to stop her body from shaking again, but failed as she whispered, "He said he had permission from Principal Vernon to do what he wanted." She felt like she was flying into pieces until she felt Bender's hand squeeze her uninjured shoulder and began to calm down some.

The paramedic approached, "We really need to get her to the hospital; do you think you could finish questioning her later?" How the HThe second paramedic was following with a bed he'd pulled out of the ambulance. "Do you think you can get on this or will you need help?" Sarah started to stand but was still shaking so hard she immediately started to fall back; Luckily Bender was behind her and caught her before she could fall.

"Whether she admits it or not, she obviously needs help," John noted with more than a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

The two paramedics lowered the bed and moved it so it was right next to her, John still had his arms around her and swiveled so she was sitting on the bed. The paramedic looked at Bender, "you're pretty good at that, ever think about becoming a paramedic?"

At that the smaller of the two police officers and Vernon choked. Bender glanced over at them and quickly looked away, "no, but I've had to help my ma plenty of times after; I mean I've had to help her when she was hurt …" He trailed off and started to move away.

Sarah was trying not to panic at the thought of being alone, this made her a little angry, she'd always been alone why it was problem now pissed her off. Turning to the paramedic who'd been nice to Bender, "d..d..do you think he," she said pointing to John Bender, "could come along, he's kinda like my kid." This made everyone stare at her, including Bender.

John moved closer to the bed, "Look Miss Dearing, I don't want to cause you any trouble, I can just take off."

At this comment she started to hyperventilate… "p…p….please…"

Vernon who'd been watching the situation closely stated, "Bender take her hand already, it might calm her down." Bender jerked his head to look at Vernon curiously, but followed the instructions. "Hey, hey calm down… If I'm like your kid or something how about slowing that breathing down, you are turning an unsightly shade of blue." Bender commented quietly with a smirk, taking one of her hands and smoothing her hair with his other hand. "Ya know you are completely destroying my reputation as a badass here."

As John started teasing her Sarah began to calm down, but the medic put an oxygen mask over her face anyway. She tried to shake her head saying she didn't want it. Bender broke in again, "let'em do their job, and right now it's to make you a normal shade." She sighed but let them put the mask on and wheel her towards the ambulance.

Everyone was watching this interaction curiously so no one saw Tom Strickler sit up, "What the fuck is going on? Why isn't that burn out bastard in custody, isn't that why you're here?" he hollered to whoever was listening.

Mike, the large police officer, walked over to the ambulance and nodded for Bender to climb in. "Look son, don't worry about him, just take care of this lady since she seems to trust you."

Mike Talmand had been on the Shermer police for a lot of years. He knew John Bender, but unlike most he didn't just see a delinquent – he'd gone to school with Bender's father and knew his home probably wasn't all that great. This teacher seemed to trust him, and that went a long way with Mike. What also made a difference was that Mike had two kids here at Shermer high school, his son was kind of a nerd and had been abused by the likes of Tom Strickler more than once. His daughter didn't fit into any of the cliques here and was often pretty miserable. Recently, much to his dismay she'd started smoking and while it wasn't something he approved of, she'd told him that John Bender had made a bunch of guys leave her alone. Now she had a crush on him. It was nice to see his daughter's judgment of the boy hadn't been wrong.

Mike closed the ambulance doors and turned to see Strickler standing up and brushing his clothes off. His face had been pummeled and there was little doubt in his mind who had done it. However, this stuck up son of a bitch didn't need to know that. The other officer, Jim, was a relative rookie and a new partner for Mike. He wasn't sure Jim was gonna make it, he made snap judgments and often listened to the wrong people. He'd already gone up to Strickler to get a statement. Mike walked up to hear what the jock was saying.

"See it wasn't like that at all, see.. uh… a bunch of us were running, ye know like doing laps around the building for warm up and stuff when we like saw a bunch of burn-outs here in the stairwell… and I wanted to make sure nothing was happening, you know… they like destroy school property and beat up nerds.. and, and I was just going to check it out, see… and like… I saw someone holding our English teacher, you know Miss Dearing, I saw that waistoid Bender like punch her.. and uh…" Mike listened to the boy stuttering out what was obviously a story. He'd have to find the other Jocks to see if he could get a statement from any of them.

He couldn't listen to the kid make shit up any more and walked over to Vernon, who was rubbing his forehead in concern. "Rich." Vernon looked up at him.

"Yeah Mike?"

"So can you tell me what you know? Because I'll be honest, I don't believe a word of the shit coming out of that Jock's mouth. I think he's already contradicted himself."

Vernon sighed, "I was sitting in my office finishing paper work when Brian Johnson, good kid mostly though kind of a nerd."

"I know him, my son is in the math club and idolizes him." Mike said, without stopping taking notes on a little pad of paper that all cops seemed to carry.

Vernon continued, "So, Johnson comes flying into my office and tells me I have to come with him, that a teacher is hurt. Of course I rush after him, when we reach the parking lot I see Sarah Dearing all bloody and bruised, Tom Strickler laid out on the ground also bloody and bruised. She was surrounded by the little club Johnson and Bender now seem to be a part of."

Mike interrupted him, "Can you tell me who else was there?"

Vernon gave him a look that said he was about to before being interrupted, the look didn't faze Mike, "Brian Johnson, John Bender, Allison Reynolds, Andrew Clark, and Claire Standish."

Mike's brow went higher with each name, but he wrote them down diligently. "How did those five kids ever get to know one another? Never mind, I don't need to know that right now. So what happened then?"

Vernon waited for Mike to quit talking then continued, "Miss Dearing was pretty shaken up and she told me pretty much exactly what she told you, course I asked if she was sure it was Strickler and not someone like Bender who roughed her up. I had to be sure."

That statement made Mike like Richard Vernon a little less, "go on."

"She said Bender and his crew saved her from Tom Strickler and his crew. I think more happened than she was willing to tell me, cause she jumped about a mile high and started shaking when I touched her."

Mike took note of that and began to wonder, "Was she wearing that flannel shirt all day? Cause it didn't look like it matched the rest of the outfit."

Vernon ran his hand over his hair, "Fuck Mike, I don't know for sure, but I don't think so; she normally dresses very nicely."

Mike nodded, "Thanks Rich, I'll get back to you if I need anything else." He walked away from Vernon, back towards Jim and Strickler. He overheard Jim say, "no, I understand, we'll make sure Bender gets taken into custody." Mike thought to himself, "we'll do no such thing, If I have anything to say about it, it will be Strickler in custody."

He announced, "Jim, we need to get to the hospital. Get a move on."

Jim patted Strickler on the shoulder, "you can ride with us, you ought to get your injuries checked out."

Mike looked at Jim like he was stupid. "No he can't. The sound of his voice made that woman hyperventilate – I'm not letting him anywhere near her. Besides, he got roughed up, he doesn't need a fucking hospital."

Jim looked stupefied, "He got beaten up for saving her, he told me so. He's a star athlete, he'd never hurt a woman." Mike grabbed his rookie partner by the arm, "get in the fucking car, I'll be with you in a minute."

Mike walked up to Strickler, who puffed out his chest and put an innocent look on his face. "Sir, I told the officer what happened, I pulled Bender off her, I think he was gonna rape her or something."

"Shut the fuck up kid. I have several witness statements to the contrary. Do you actually need a hospital? You seem just fine to spout shit to my partner." Mike looked at him like he was a cockroach, Tom had never had anyone not believe him, or look at him like that before.

"uh, no sir… I can just go home.. but my folks… they'll press charges."

Mike arched a brow, "hmm, well we'll have to cross that bridge when we get to it. For now, head home, and don't go anywhere."


	6. Chapter 6

When Claire arrived home she didn't change clothes, she was hoping John would call her and let her know if Miss Dearing was ok. She knew he'd stayed with her, she seemed really shaken up. Claire could not believe what she'd seen. She had to tell someone; as if hearing her prayers her father walked in the door, unbelievably home early. "Daddy can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Of course Claire-bear, what's wrong?" Her father asked with worry in his voice.

"You remember me talking about the new English teacher? How she's really like cool, and I'm really loving her class, like she's a really good teacher, and stuff?"

He chuckled a bit at her rambled explanation, "yes I remember, not her name though." He sat down in chair at the kitchen table; he could tell she was distraught about something.

"Well, like, me and some friends saved her today… there were a bunch of jocks who'd pushed her down the steps or something at like the back of the school building, we like heard a scream, and sort of went looking. And well, I swear Tom Strickler, the quarterback he like had his hand up her skirt, and like had his fist in her hair, and like Bobby something another football player was pulling her arms back like one looked out of place, and like another guy had his hand over her mouth…It was awful Daddy!" She was so upset at just remembering what happened that tears formed in her eyes.

His eyes widened at her story. "Christ princess, what can I do to help?"

She shook her head, "I don't know, but if there was something… would you help her? Uhm, well she's also been letting John stay at her house sometimes, like remember I told you his parents weren't really cool, she's been I guess kind of taking care of him, and well like Tom said something really nasty, like she was being inappropriate with him. Daddy I know that is a lie… I know you don't really like John, but I know him and he'd never ever do something that awful, but Tom Strickler has so much more money than John and I am afraid he'll lie and people will believe him, and uhm, could you like take me to see her at the hospital?" Claire continued to ramble at her father but she'd moved to her knees next to him, her arms wrapped around his waist in a way she hadn't in a very long time, since she was a small girl. He stroked her hair and thought about what she said, he'd met John Bender and while he wished it wasn't so, it was obvious his princess was head over heels for the boy and that the same was true of the boy.

"Of course I'll drive you down there sweetheart. Do you want to change clothes or anything? Uhm, I believe your mother went to a spa or something for the weekend so you don't have to worry about her with this information, gods know what she'd do besides try to yank you into another private school."

Claire sat up, first she was a little floored that her mother had left for the weekend without so much as a note. Also she was irritated that her father felt the need to bad mouth her mother to her. She hated when they did that, "yeah daddy, let me just go change out of my school clothes. And thanks for driving me."

He thought for moment, "do you just want to take your mother's car? Since she's gone? I drove her to the airport this morning."

She thought about it for less than a minute, "sure, that'd be great. I think some of my friends will be down there too so if I need to I can give people rides home." With that she ran up the stairs to change. When she reached her bedroom she threw herself on her bed and called Allison.

"hello?" Allison answered tentatively, almost no one had this number, Andy was training with his dad, so she didn't know who could be calling. She had been asked to stay but Andy's dad threw her out, said she wrecked his concentration.

"It's Claire, do you want to go down to the hospital with me to see how Miss Dearing is doing? I bet the police will be there too and we can tell them what we saw before the jocks open up their big mouths and start spewing lies." Claire's voice got rougher and more hurried as she realized what might happen. It might be all those jocks and Vernon against John, what if Miss Dearing was unconscious or something.

Allison noticed the rising panic in Claire's voice, "Sure, I can be ready anytime you want come by."

"Ok, great, I will be there in like 10 minutes." The girls said their goodbyes and Claire pulled on a pair of jeans and a sweat shirt, clothes that just a few weeks ago she never would have left the house in. Of course, not having to listen to her mother berate her for not looking her best was a part of it.

Twenty minutes later Claire and Allison pulled into the hospital parking lot in Mrs. Standish's pearl grey Mercedes. Allison had been astonished both by Claire's speed at arriving and at how she was dressed. She'd never seen her so…. Down to earth.

They entered the hospital and started to approach the courtesy desk, when Claire saw John and steered Allison towards him. She was cool and collected for about a second then she was running towards Bender and throwing herself into his arms. "Hey sweetheart, everything ok? I didn't expect to see you, but then I guess we didn't have much time to say goodbye."

"How is Miss Dearing?" both girls asked in unison.

"She still in there," he pointed to the emergency room. "I rode here with her in the ambulance and she seemed sort of ok considering, but they said they wanted to put her under to fix her broken ankle, and apparently broken ribs." John look furious as he detailed out the rest of her injuries including needing some stitches in the side of her face, and something being wrong with her eye. He ran his hand through his hair and said with a deep sigh of sadness, "I don't know what I would have done if we hadn't gotten there when we did, they were gonna fucking rape her, that motherfucker Strickler told her. He woke up before she got out of there, and had like a fucking panic attack or something at the sound of that bastards voice."

"Did the police get there in time?" Allison asked.

"Yeah, one guy was real cool, the other was like the rest of the fuckin cops happy to believe the jock. Actually, I think Mike might still be here, I bet he'd love additional witness statements; if that would be ok with the two of you?" John started walking away then thought he'd better explain. "He's been waiting for Sarah too."

"Sarah?" Claire asked with just a hint of jealousy in her voice, though she tried to control it.

John choked out a laugh, and kissed Claire's forehead. "Sarah Dearing, princess. Ye know the reason we are here and all." Claire blushed and ducked her head into Bender's chest for a minute. "You'll never believe what she said, not just to Vernon either… said she thought of me like her kid. I didn't know what the fuck to think of that…. Maybe she'd let me stay at her place more often." Then his face grew darker and fell just a little. "Maybe better not, Strickler said all kinds of fucked up things… he told the police she was banging me. You shouldn't have stopped me Claire, the fuckin world would be better off without him in it."

Claire reached up and touched his face. "You are a good man, and anyone with eyes knows Miss Dearing isn't your type." She smiled softly at him, which made him laugh.

"Get a room you two, or at least lead me out of this one before I get nauseated on your shoes with all the cuteness." Allison groused good naturedly.

At the same time both Claire and Bender said, "fuck you" and "fuck off have you seen you can Clark?"

Bender went and got two coffees, and then led the girls down a hallway and around a corner. Sitting on a couch was a very large police officer. Bender handed him one of the coffees. "I found a couple of gorgeous ladies, both who can give you more statements and stuff." Bender put his arm around Claire's waist, put his face in her hair, and took a deep breath feeling it calm him almost instantly. He spoke directly into her ear, which always made her shiver, "thanks for coming down here Red, it helps."

Allison sat down next to the police officer, "Bender said you could use more statements?"

Mike nodded, "you were there this afternoon?"

Allison arched an eyebrow, "yeah cause I could so give you a statement if I wasn't right?" The smirk slid off her face as she remembered the afternoon, and she nodded, "All kidding aside, yeah I was there so was my boyfriend Andy, want me to call him? He pulled guys away from Miss Dearing like John did. Uhm, I think Brian did too…"

Mike thought about it for a moment, "Well if you don't think it would be too much trouble, it would be great to get statements from each of you." Allison nodded and moved towards the bank of pay phones on the other side of the sitting room. 

Bender brought Claire over as Allison walked away, "You scare her off already, Mike?" Bender asked with a grin. This surprised Claire, but in the most positive way possible.

"Nah, she said she was gonna call the other kids who helped you out. This beauty must be the glamorous Ms. Standish." The police officer said with a smile that made Claire blush and look down.

"Hey there Mike, you might be a cop, but she prefers long haired dudes who are NOT old enough to be her Dad." John snickered.

Mike pretended to be wounded, "yeah, yeah, I know you got it bad kid. However, you gonna let me talk to her without you sitting here coaching?" Bender looked honestly bugged by that statement, so much so that Mike said, "seriously, it's procedure John – I need to talk to her on her own for just a few minutes."

John kissed Claire on the temple and looked carefully at her; she reached up and stroked his hair away from his eyes. "I'll be fine, promise. Could you maybe get me something to drink?" She figured it would be better for him to have something to do rather that brood at the officer as she was answering questions.

Mike smiled and thought to himself, "Kids in love." Though in all honesty he was glad to see the kid had someone in his corner. Though how he managed to land the daughter of Robert Standish was pretty much beyond him. As he came back from his little reminiscence he realized the pretty red head was waiting for him. "Sorry about that Miss, when you get old the mind tends to wander."

Claire smiled, "then I guess we're all old 'cause it happens to me all the time." The bit of banter instantly put Claire at ease.

Mike pulled out his note pad, "Can you tell me what happened in as detailed a fashion as you can."

Claire took a deep breath and thought back to the afternoon, it seemed like a million years ago now. "Well we were hanging out trying to decide if we wanted to go someplace or just head home. I am always interested in hanging out with my friends, ye know? Anyway, we were sort of aimlessly walking around and discussing the various options. So we hear something that sounds like someone hurt, or getting hurt or something. In a kind of unspoken decision we began running, well John and Andy took off, Allison, Brian and I followed, but man can those boys run. Uhm, anyway, when we like arrived John had pulled Tommy and uhm, Mitch Henderson away. Andy had grabbed a couple of guys, and well Bobby Manns, he's another football player, Andy would like probably know what position and stuff. I saw him, Bobby that is, like drop Miss Dearing like a sack of potatoes, and he like climbed and jumped the railing. Andy started chasing him and the other boys he'd pulled away from these, like back steps that led to the shop area." Tears were running down Claire's face, Tom said, I can't believe he said this or that like I remember it so clearly, but Tom said, "of course her boytoy would come to the rescue, come on man, we just wanted a piece of that sweet whore action" she did her best to mimic Tom's voice.

"I think if he hadn't said that John might not have gotten so mad." Claire cleared her throat, "I might not have kicked him either." Claire sat staring at her nails for a minute then continued, "John picked Miss Dearing up where she had kind of fallen down the stairs after the boys ran off, Andy helped her sit down and Allison and I got her calmed down a little. She asked if one of us would check the office to see if it was still open cause it was like late on a Friday, that's when Brian came back with Mr. Vernon." Claire started biting the side of her nail then realized what she was doing and stopped herself. "uhm, do you need to know any more? Can we see how Miss Dearing is doing?"

Moments after she asked that question, the rest of the Breakfast Club came pouring into the waiting area, and at that moment a doctor approached from the opposite direction. The doctor looked around, "Whose here for Sarah Dearing?" The police officer stood up and looked to John as if to tell him it was ok. John stepped forward to stand next to Officer Mike, with Claire's hand tightly wrapped in his. The rest of the breakfast club hung back, but not so far they couldn't hear what was being said.

The doctor cleared his throat, "She has a fractured cheekbone, several broken ribs, and a broken ankle. She's lucky none of the ribs punctured a rib considering the compound breaks. She's out of surgery" John started, and looked like he wanted to say something, Claire squeezed his hand, "Mostly it went very well, the ribs presented more of a challenge since we were dealing with additional calcium deposits, the bottom rib was all but smashed from what looked like intense blunt force trauma. We managed to set it, but we did have to use some pins. She is resting comfortably and asking for someone named John." The surgeon looked around then at Bender, "if that is you sir, please follow me." The doctor stopped and turned slightly to look at the officer, "Would you be able to come back tomorrow? I would really like her to rest tonight." Officer Mike nodded, "I wanted to make sure she was ok before I headed down to the station." He didn't mention wanting to make sure no one gave the young Bender any trouble.

Mike turned to Claire who was wringing her hands as she watched John follow the doctor out of site. "I have a few more questions which might be uncomfortable."

Claire sat down and folded her hands in her lap, looking very much like a lady. Mike felt like a bull in a china shop next to her and he couldn't imagine how Bender must feel. "Uhm, well… Mr. Strickler made some accusations… and uh… I need to know if there is a chance they might be true."

Claire sat up straight and looked pissed, "what did that slimeball say?"

Mike cleared his throat again, and looked bashful as he said, "He insinuated that there was a…. sexual… relationship between Miss Dearing and Mr. Bender."

Claire stood up and yelled, "He WHAT? That little fucking snot nosed LIAR!"

Mike remained seated, "Miss you need to calm down. I have to ask these questions."

Claire took a deep breath, and looked close to tears, "No, they aren't like that. I think she sees him as a son or something, I don't know. If that were happening I would know." Mike arched a brow at this, and Claire blushed and brushed the tears away. "Isn't it enough to say I'd know?"

Claire sighed, "I know he'd never cheat on me one, and two, I've been to her house with John… she's all motherly towards him. She's practically turned her guest room into a room for him so he doesn't have to go home if he doesn't want to. I… I can't really tell you all of that 'cause you'd have to report it and he'd get sent away," with that Claire started to cry again.

Mike sighed, "Look Miss Standish, you know what a small town Shermer is. I went to high school with Joe Bender and I know what a first class prick he is. That said, I have two kids who got to Shermer and both have spoken positively of your John. I won't do anything to jeopardize his chances at a good life, and I think you might just be part of it. Ok?"

Claire sniffled a little and nodded obviously relieved. "Look, I've seen how Miss Dearing acts towards John, I don't know why but she really does seem to look at him protectively and stuff. There isn't anything gross going on, I just know there isn't."

There was a commotion in the hall, Mike motioned for Claire to remain where she was and went to check it out. He'd spoken to the chief about the situation while it was just he and Bender waiting to hear more about Sarah Dearing. He'd called in because this could turn into an enormous headache for the chief. Mike knew the chief had a soft spot for kids in bad situations, have been one himself. He also had no lost love for Jason Strickler who had been trying to get him out of the chief's chair for years now. However, Mike knew that the chief played golf with Mr. Standish, so it might help keep John Bender from serious trouble for beating the snot out of Tom Strickler. In the main waiting room it was none other than Jason Strickler having a Richie fucking temper tantrum because his son was triaged and put in the waiting room. Mike moved back into the shadows, not wanting the obnoxious man or his son to see him. Mike moved quietly back towards Claire.

Mike leaned on the back of the couch Claire was sitting on. "Honey, I think you ought to go see your teacher and your boyfriend – I have a situation to handle here and I would prefer you not be anywhere near it. The same is true of your friends; they need to be far away from the main entrance to this hospital.

Claire looked a worried, "Is it him?"

Mike nodded, and I think it would be a good idea if you were in the room with Miss Dearing and John so there can be no question of propriety. In fact, is there someone you can call?"

Claire nodded, "I'll call my father, he'll come down."

With that Claire ran to the cafeteria where she found Andy, Allison, and Brian… "Hey guys, Strickler and his father are here. Miss Dearing isn't really allowed visitors tonight, so if you want to head out that's cool. Do you need a ride home?" They all stood up, and Andy said, "nah, I have my truck so I can take everyone home. We gonna meet back here tomorrow? And how are you and Bender gonna get home?"

Claire smiled and hugged each of them," I am going to stay with John for a while, and I have my mother's car so there's no worry about me getting home." With that, the three friends headed for home with heavy hearts, and Claire walked over to the room Officer Mike pointed out and knocked quietly before poking her head in. Sarah Dearing smiled, she really liked Claire, especially the way she obviously felt about John. She wished they were her kids. "Come on in Claire, sit with me for a while."

She came in and sat down on the edge of the bed. "How are you doing Miss Dearing?"

The question made her laugh, "First, please call me Sarah considering you are sitting in a hospital room with me; second, the pain killers are pretty much the best they can dole out. I am hoping to get out of here tomorrow, and get back to school by next week." John and Claire gave each other a look. "Hey now, no silent girlfriend/boyfriend conversations, I'm the one laid up, you should spill the gory details" Sarah smiled at the kids, these two always made her feel better, feel younger somehow.

Claire laid her hand on Sarah's arm, "I don't know that school is going to be a pleasant place. It seems that Strickler is spreading pretty nasty rumors about you."

Sarah shook her head, "I filed a restraining order against Tom." I don't know if it has all gone through yet or not, but I certainly hope so. At the mere thought of Strickler Sarah's breathing changed and she started to shake.

John put his hand on her arm, "Hey now, there is a cop outside the door, and do you really think I'd let that fucker near you?"

Sarah smiled at John, "You can't be my protector 24/7. "

John smirked, "so long as you don't mind the presence of my girlfriend, why not?"

Suddenly, there was a great commotion outside of her door, people were yelling and Sarah started to panic – John laid a hand on her arm. "Remember, nothing bad is gonna happen to you if Claire and I have anything to say about it. Ok?" He looked at Claire, should I see what's happening out there?

Claire shook her head. "Not with the accusations being thrown around, the last thing you should do is poke your head out of here. They'de see it as proving them right." John got up and started pacing in the small room, his fists clenching and unclenching. Claire walked over to him and laid her hand and then her head on his back. "John, sweetheart, we all know the truth and that is what matters, but I have an idea… will you let me take the lead here and keep a very very tight reign on your temper?"

John shrugged, "do I really have a choice?"

Sarah chuckled, "you two really have it bad for one another don't you."

Both of them kind of growled their answers which might have been yes, might have been no. Claire came up to the side of the bed, "can I use your phone?"

"of course, you don't even have to ask Claire." She sat down on one of the hospital chairs provided, "Hi Daddy" she listened for a moment then said, "well Miss Dearing is ok, she had to have surgery but she is out now and awake and stuff. Daddy, the Strickler's are here and I think they are causing a scene. I don't want Miss Dearing any more upset, can you come down here, please? I am sorry to ruin your evenng."

"Nonsense sweetheart, I'll get ready and be there shortly." He was worried about how upset his little girl sounded on the phone.

John was sitting in one of the hospital chairs with his feet up on Miss Dearing's bed; Claire walked behind him, ran her fingers through his hair, and wound up with her hands on his shoulders and her chin on his head. "I know you don't care for my Dad." John held up a hand for to interrupt her.

"Babe whether I like him or not is irrelevant, the question is will he be useful here?" John said turning his head to look at her. Sarah Dearing slept the sleep of the heavily medicated while being watched over by the two students. "You know she asked me to house sit while she was here? I swear this is the strangest shit ever. I want to kill that little fucker for even insinuating she'd do something like that, I mean I don't care what he says about me, but she's never done anything but be nice. That shit just ain't fucking right princess, ya know what I mean?"

Claire kissed the top of John's head and ran her fingers over his neck and shoulders, "Yeah, I get what you mean, and that's what I told the cop when he asked me about the "accusations" of "young Mr. Strickler". He's the reason I'm in here now, the officer Mike? He told me to get Andy, Alli, and Bri either in here with us or out of the hospital."

This made John turn fully towards her, keeping his voice as quiet as possible, "why?" the tone was still obviously angry.

Claire arched an eyebrow, "I'll only tell you if you promise not to fly off the handle. She," pointing to Sarah Dearing, "doesn't need you to get a criminal assault charge. But, well the Strickler's both father and son arrived and were causing a ruckus in the waiting room by the ER."

John's eyes darkened, "John, remember you promised, besides Officer Mike went to go take care of it. Do you, well I got the impression he didn't much care for Strickler."

At that comment John chuckled softly and a bit meanly, "Yeah Red, I definitely got that impression, especially when he called tommy-boy a snot nosed little shit." The memory made John smile.


	7. Chapter 7

See earlier chapters for disclaimer - I don't own any characters except those from my imagination. This is a fairly short chapter, but more are coming.

Jason Strickler was used to getting what he wanted, and right now he wanted a doctor to look at his son Tom. Tommy was a chip off the old block, a quarterback, a lady's man, and a smooth talker – or at least that's what Jason thought of both himself and his son. Few people were willing to contradict him, at least to his face. At present he was yelling at the nurses about how absolutely incompetent they were; couldn't they see how badly injured his son was?

Office Mike Talmand took a deep breath and waved back the security guard who had already been pissed off by the elder Strickler who called him a useless rent-a-cop. He released the breath and briefly wished he still smoked. However, he knew couldn't procrastinate, at least not without the staff committing homicide. "Hey Jason," Mike raised his voice so he could be heard over the yelling. Jason Strickler spun towards Talmand, "It's about god damned time you got here. I want to make a report and send a fucking delinquent to jail. Do you see what happened to my son for doing a good deed?" Strickler continued to be loud, arrogant, and apparently still as ignorant as he'd been in High school

"Yeah, we got a statement from him. However, he doesn't look badly injured. He looks a little roughed up, nothing worse than you did to many a kid back in high school." Mike said in a calm voice hoping to diffuse Jason Strickler. It didn't work.

Jason Strickler exploded again, "You were a fuck up in high school and you make a terrible fuckin cop now. I am gonna have your badge! You see my boy there? He needs help. He was trying to save a teacher from a bunch of burn-out kids and they beat him for it. How can you stand there and not help him. Hell, Tommy told me you stood up for John mother-fuckin Bender!" The elder Strickler was practically screaming into the face of the officer. "You know what kind of scum he comes from; what in the fuck were you thinking!"

At that moment, luck or fate stepped in as did Robert Standish, he watched Jason Strickler screaming at Officer Mike Talmand for less than a minute before he said, "Strickler, stop behaving like a horse's ass unless you want this officer to throw _your_ ass in jail." Suddenly there was silence in the front area of the hospital. Everyone turned towards the new man in the room. He was impeccably dressed and gave off an air of power that only very old money does.

Mike walked over and put out his hand, "Mr. Standish it's a pleasure to see you again, how long has been ten, fifteen years?"

Robert Standish smiled, he'd always liked Mike Talmand though they had been in entirely different social circles back at school, Chief of Police Adam Jones thought very highly of Talmand. Robert realized he'd left Mike hanging. "Sorry" Standish shook Mike's extended hand. "I think you can call me Rob, and not to make you feel old, but it's been more like twenty years my friend." Both men chuckled.

Rob Standish had been in the same circle as Jason Strickler, but as they grew up and grew older Robert realized there was nothing positive about Strickler. He had started to come to an understanding of what he wanted out of his life. The recent changes in Claire, even her new boyfriend had given him a lot of food for thought. His wife's drinking had been growing progressively worse and he had begun to really worry about Claire. Briefly lost in his thoughts he missed Jason Strickler approaching.

"Standish man, it's good to see you. Can you talk some sense into these people? My son was injured being a hero and look at what good it gets him." Strickler grabbed him roughly by the arm. Rob tilted his head looking mildly disgusted, and jerked his arm away.

"Strickler, I heard an entirely different story about your son's actions today, and I have never heard of your Tommy being a hero to anyone." He shook his head and turned towards Mike. "Do you know where I might find my daughter?" Mike nodded, "yeah follow me."

Tom Strickler sat in a chair feeling as stunned as his father looked. He wasn't sure what was going to happen, his father sat down next to him and patted his knee, "Don't worry Tommy, the truth will always come out." That was exactly what worried Tom.

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	8. Chapter 8

Mike walked Robert Standish to Sarah Dearing's room. Mike knocked softly and opened the door, what he saw made him smile. John had pulled the room's reclining chair close to the bed, he was lying reclined in the chair with one hand on the hospital bed rail – Sarah Dearing was clutching the boy's shirt so tight her knuckles were a little white even though she appeared to be sound sleep. Curled up on the boy's lap was Claire Standish. She had her head on Bender's chest as though she was listening to his heart, and she was sitting sideways with her feet hanging over the side of the chair. Bender had his arm wrapped around her as though he had to keep her safe even in his sleep.

Bender opened his eyes as the door creaked open, he looked as though he wanted to straighten up, but he was rather stuck in his current position by the two women in the room. He whispered, "Evening Sir, thanks for coming down. I thought you were headed home Mike?" As he spoke both Claire and Sarah stirred; he began stroking Claire's hair, which caused her to settle further against him – she buried her face into his shirt. He gently stroked Sarah's hand with his thumb which caused her to fall back into a deeper sleep. When he was sure they were both pretty soundly sleeping again he said, "Did you come to get Claire? I told her to go home hours ago, but she is kind of stubborn." His comment came with a soft smile at the girl in question.

Robert Standish stood watching the interactions and realized both women felt safe in the presence of this presumed criminal. He wasn't sure what exactly John Bender had done to cause this kind of loyalty, but he felt a bit of pressure lift off of his chest. He figured the boy would protect these girls or die trying, and that made him feel better about his relationship with Claire. "Evening John, and no I didn't come to specifically pick Claire up, she drove here so I assumed she'd drive herself home." Bender was startled since Mr. Standish had never called him by his first name, nor had he ever sounded so kind towards him.

Mike and Robert sat down on a couch on the opposite side of the private room. Robert spoke quietly, "Why don't you try to get a little shut eye yourself John, it doesn't look like the ladies are going to let you up soon. I'll get as much as I can from Mike, then I'd like to hear what happened from your perspective. The Strickler's are pretty vindictive and I'd like to make sure no one gets further injured."

Bender closed his eyes, but listened to the men talking rather than falling asleep. Mike began, "well, from what I can tell it was a group of jocks led by Tommy Strickler who attacked Miss Dearing. I don't have the details on why they did this, but I do know they caused some pretty extensive injuries and were stopped before a full fledged rape occurred. However, Sarah told me they did sexually assault her with their hands; Tom and another boy penetrated her with their fingers. They seem to believe she is having an affair with young Mr. Bender, which according to him and several others is not the case." Mike stopped talking for a moment to try and keep his anger at the situation under control.

"Miss Dearing," he recalled her insisting he call her by her first name, "Sarah, told me she had offered Bender a safe place to stay if it was too much at home. Now the problem there is that she is supposed to report suspect abuse. Don't get me wrong, Bender is almost 18, but it can still cause some trouble if Jason decides to make it an issue. I am also pretty sure it was John who beat Tommy up. While I certainly think the kid deserved it, I am not sure how to keep him safe from a lawsuit."

He was interrupted by Rob Standish, "Don't worry about the law side of things; I have some pretty good connections." This caused both men to chuckle at the understatement. "I have to admit I hated the kid" and he nodded towards John, "on sight, you remember what an asshole Joe Bender was. Claire has been teaching me not to be quite so… I don't know… judgmental. Once I forget about his last name, and well, past the burn out look and sailor's mouth he seems like a genuinely good kid. My baby girl is certainly crazy about him." He shook his head with a small smile on his face.

Mike chuckled, "yeah I can see that, it seems to go both ways if that protective arm around her is any indication anyway. I have my own reasons for thinking he's a good kid though; you know Wendy and I have two kids right?"

Mr. Standish shook his head but said, "congrats man, how old are they?"

Mike chuckled, "Alex is a fourteen and a freshman at Shermer, and Lisa is a 16 year old junior. Bender has helped them both out, though I think he tries very hard to remain anonymous. Apparently he does that a lot for kids. See Alex is a whiz at math and science but has a mild form of autism which makes social situations like high school very hard. After he was worked over pretty good someone. This one" he pointed to Bender, "stopped jocks from injuring him again, seems he's even done it more than once – and well my Lisa says he's some kind of dreamboat since she overheard him telling a bunch of guys she was too young to "fuck with". So I have my own reasons for wanting to see the kid get more than a fair deal. Then there is Miss Dearing there, from her what I got is that Bender literally pulled Strickler off of her and proceeded to scare the rest of the boys off while beating the snot out of Tommy –boy."

Robert took a deep breath and let it out in a sigh. "I am playing golf with Adam tomorrow, so I'll talk to him about the situation. If I remember correctly he was a complete nerd in high school" he grinned, "and I do, there is no lost love between him and Jason. What are Ms. Dearing's injuries anyway?"

Mike cleared his throat and looked down at his hands, when from across the room Bender spoke up in kind of a stage whisper: "Fractured cheek bone; dislocated shoulder; one fractured rib; one rib kind of demolished, they had to put pins in it to rebuild it or something; a broken ankle; and something related to her…pu" he stopped himself remembering who he was talking to, "woman parts, but I didn't hear that part and really don't need to know. I'll be honest and I don't care if I go to jail for it; if Claire hadn't stopped me I think I would have killed that motherfucker." John sighed, "I'd kill for a smoke right now, but I don't want to wake these two up, Sarah is on so many drugs I don't know how she wakes up, but every time I have tried to leave the room the doc says her heart rate goes up. I mean damn, my fuckin parents don't like me that much. She's totally been the mom I wish I had; I didn't know any grown-ups acted like she does. No offence I mean" John realized who he was talking to and suddenly shut up. "Uhm, there should be a nurse coming in soon. Sarah told them I was her kid cause she didn't want to be alone, then asked me if it was ok." John shook his head; he still looked stunned, it was obvious he didn't believe he was worth it and didn't understand why she was doing this for him.

The two older men looked at one another, and Robert Standish spoke, "Look John, I know you and I haven't exactly seen eye to eye, but the fact that Karen hates you gives you an added plus in my book. But more than that, well Claire has a pretty good head on her shoulders. So I'll tell you what – Let me take Claire and put her here on the couch. You look like you could use a stretch. Mike and I will stay until you get back."

John nodded and slowly pulled his arm away from Sarah Dearing who whimpered briefly but didn't really wake up. With just as much care as he could he stood up, holding Claire bridal style as though she didn't weigh anything at all. He walked over to the couch, Mike fluffed up a pillow and John put Claire down. He draped his coat over her after pulling out his cigarettes. "I'm probably gonna stop by that little café and get some coffee, can I get anything for either of you?"

Robert Standish pulled out a twenty dollar bill, handed it to John, and said, "I'd love a latte with an extra shot of espresso," he looked at Mike who said, "hey if you are paying I'll certainly get a coffee." Robert grinned," of course I am paying. John, be sure to get yourself something to eat, not just coffee. I'm willing to bet you haven't eaten tonight." Bender nodded and really didn't know what to say, he'd simply never been around adults who treated him like this.

As he reached the door, "I'm gonna grab a smoke then get stuff from the café and I then I'll be right back." He sounded sincerely concerned about the two women in the room. "Sorry, habit ya know, uhm.. I know you are her dad Mr. Standish, but I kinda can't help it. And well Sarah, she's just be so fuckin nice to me." He shook his head again and quickly walked out of the room before he made himself sound like an even bigger pussy. His mouth just seemed to run away from him lately.

True to his word, as soon as Bender was out of the room Sarah Dearing started moving around in her sleep, her heart rate went up and she started mumbling, _"No, damnit I said no… you can't hit him… he's just a kid….hit me then_." She whimpered and started squirming so much they were afraid her monitor leads were going to pull out, but she started mumbling again. _"Dad, no… I didn't mean it…_" followed by a moan, "_Scott, stop you're going to kill him_." In her sleep tears started streaming down her face. "_Please, please stop…_ " Her heart rate started climbing again; this finally brought a nurse in. The two men didn't know what to say or do, so they stepped away from the bed. The nurse made sure her leads were in place, and she asked, "Could one of you come over here, when her son is here she seems calmer, I hope one of you can stand in for him – at least till he gets back?" Robert moved up to the bed and laid a hand on her arm; instead of calming her down she shrieked and woke herself up. Her eyes looked around the room wildly. She closed them and appeared to be counting breaths to calm herself down.

Mike moved up to the bed and put his hand on the top of her head, "Sarah, it's me officer Mike, you have to calm down. John just went for a smoke; he can't be here constantly, so give the rest of us a chance." Her eyes looked a little wild but she managed to get her breathing under control. The noise had awoken Claire who sat up and pulled John's coat on even though it was much too large for her. Standing up she moved to her father, "Hi Daddy, when did you get here?"

Rob Standish truly adored his daughter; he kissed the top of her head and put his arm around her. "Maybe a half hour ago, you were pretty out of it." He noticed she was looking around the room. "Your boyfriend went to get coffee and a cigarette; he should be back in just a few minutes." Claire looked relieved, but didn't really want to show it. She saw her teacher was awake too, "How are you doing Miss Dearing? Is there anything I can get for you? Or do for you?"

Sarah gently shook her head no, though she did looked a little wide eyed at the new man in the room. Claire noticed and quickly moved to make introductions. "Miss Dearing, this is my father Robert Standish." He smiled at her, but made no moved to come closer.

"My daughter has spent the year singing your praises, which is amazing since I think she failed English last year." Rob Standish said this with a devilish glint in his eye and a smirk on his face.

"DADDY!" Claire playfully slapped his arm. "Now Miss Dearing you know that's not true, I know I didn't do well, but I didn't fail." The interaction made Sarah smile slightly and carefully. Claire moved up to the side of the bed, "Just so you know apparently the grown-ups here threw John out." Sarah's heart rate immediately picked up, and Claire laid a hand on her arm to try and calm her down. "I mean for coffee and a cigarette. He apparently needed one pretty bad. He promised he'd be right back." Sarah's heart rate began to slow as soon as she heard he'd be back.

Sarah laid her head back on the pillow, "I don't want him getting in trouble and each time he's not around I am afraid either those jocks will get to him or he'll be taken off to jail for helping me in some stupid misunderstanding. I know everyone will believe someone like Tom over someone like John." She looked directly into Claire's eyes, "even if you and I know differently."

John's thoughts were spinning pretty wildly when he got outside of the hospital. He lit his cigarette and tried to decide if the world had suddenly changed or he was in a bizzaro version of the twilight zone. For the first time in a very long while John was not paying keen attention to his surroundings so when Jason Strickler stalked up and punched him square on the side of the head he was unprepared.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the original BC characters - the supporting cast is out of my imagination though. There is a lot of language and a fair bit of violence in this chapter - just to warn you.

Jason proceeded to pummel the unsuspecting boy and when he dropped John to his knees Jason started kicking him. The elder Strickler knew who this was, the punk looked enough like his waste of space old man that he knew it had to be Bender. It was almost fun to get his frustrations out on the fuckin brat. It was his fault his son was hurt, he knew it was! He also knew his boy would never hurt a teacher and this punk must have lied. As he was kicking him he started yelling at the top of his lungs, "This is what you fucking get for lying about my boy! It was you who beat up that hippy freak who calls herself a fucking teacher!" He punctuated his words with more punches or kicks.

Since it was the middle of the night and few people were around to see what was happening – Jason just kept beating the boy – kicking as hard as he could, so hard in fact that he sent John flying into the glass wall of the hospital. The cop who was inside heard the noise and went out to investigate. He was nearly paralyzed in shock at what he saw. "STOP!"He yelled. Jason paid him no attention, grabbed Bender by his now bloody shirt and picked him up to punch him again. When suddenly there was a gun pointed in his face.

"You WILL carefully put that boy down NOW, or I will not hesitate to shoot you sick mother fucker." The hospital security guard was an a police officer who moonlighted at Shermer Memorial Hospital. Without putting his gun down he said, "get on your fucking knees and lace your fingers behind your head." Jason didn't move immediately, which elicited the response, "You can either drop the boy and get on your knees or I will make you do it. Which do you want to try?" Jason Strickler let go of Bender's shirt causing the unconscious boy to crumple – this pissed off the cop who proceeded to kick the back of Strickler's knees, knocking him to the ground. The officer pulled out his radio, "Emergency outside the main entrance, I need a team out here Stat." The officer had heard Strickler screaming at the nurses in triage earlier and had no lost love for this arrogant idiot. He pulled proceeded to cuff the man and haul him up by the arms, causing him pain as the cuffs both bit into his wrists and the pulling wrenched his shoulders back. However, realized he better keep his mouth shut for the moment. He watched in disgust as a team rushed out to see John Bender lying unconscious in the foliage near the building.

Another hospital security guard came out, "Hey Dan, what happened?"

The police officer, Dan, said, "I found this sonofabitch beating the hell out of that boy."

Jason muttered, "ain't no fuckin boy it's John motherfuckin Bender, a god damned criminal here in Shermer. You all should have let me just kill him. He's been lying about my boy, he beat up and raped a teacher, didn't you hear!" by the end of his commentary he was yelling.

The emergency response team quickly moved John into the ER, while Dan pulled Jason Strickler inside so he could get him booked.

Back in Sarah Dearing's room, Mike and Claire both began to get worried. Claire said, "John's been gone an awfully long time, I am gonna go look for him. I know he didn't want to leave in the first place so I am not sure what's taking so long." Sarah's eyes grew wide, "could something have happened to him?"

Mike, wanting to keep both girls calm said, "Hey Rob, why don't you and I go check it out. I think it's best for you" he looked at Claire, "to stay here with Miss Dearing." Mike gave a look conveying worry.

Rob Standish stood up, "I could use a stretch of my legs anyway sweetie. Will you ladies be ok?" Both Claire and Sarah nodded though they were obviously worried.

As the door shut behind the men, Mike said, "If the Strickler's are still here…." He let the sentence trail off but both men began to hurry towards the lobby and triage area. When they arrived they saw the commotion. Mike saw Dan, and called out to him, "what's going on?"

Dan remembered Mike come in with the teacher. "Man I didn't realize you were still here, If I had I would have called you sooner." He pointed to Jason Strickler sitting handcuffed to a pole. I found him outside beating the hell out of a kid, the one you were talking to earlier; Bender is the name I think."

Both men paled, "Where is he now?" Mr. Standish asked.

Dan pointed to the ER, "I don't know how long he was being beaten before I got there, but he seemed pretty fucked up. The asshole kicked him into the glass wall of the hospital and cracked it." Before he could finish his statement Rob Standish went up to the nurse's station.

"Can you give me information on the young man just brought in? John Bender?"

The nurse was young and pretty, she began looking through paperwork, "are you a relative? We couldn't find any emergency contact information for him."

Rob sighed, "at the moment, I'm the closest thing he has since the only other adult who seems to care is also in your hospital." He looked at his watch; it was 2:30 in the morning. He weighed the options of calling in some big guns. "I really need to know, please?"

The nurse looked as him, and then over at the security officers with the man who had apparently done all the damage. "ok, I shouldn't be telling you this, but he's in pretty bad shape. I don't know any details yet, but I think they were prepping him for surgery and trying to get someone who could sign for parental consent."

Robert Standish ran his hands through his hair and desperately tried to come up with a solution, when all he really wanted was to be home in bed. "Mike! I need you over here a minute." Talmand jogged over, "What's up?"

"It seems they need some kind of parental consent to take John to surgery and I can't get any more information than that." Anger seemed to be building in Mr. Standish's voice.

Mike pulled out his badge, "Let me speak to a doctor working on the case." The nurse picked up the phone and walked as far away from the men as she could.

Within a moment or two a doctor, covered in blood, came out. "Are one of you the parent of this boy?"

Mike shook his head, "no, but he was under my care, so give me the damn paper work and I'll fucking sign it. What is going on? I need to know NOW DAMNIT!"

The doctor sighed, "I don't even know the extent of the damages yet. So far I can tell you there is some internal bleeding, he has at least a half dozen cracked ribs, a possibly fractured skull, and a broken hand. That at least I can tell you had a boot print from someone stepping on it. Can I get back to my patient now?"

Both men nodded quickly; Robert looked like he wanted to pass out, and Mike as though he was going to puke. He turned to the security station, "did you call for a pick up to take that trash down town?"

Rob started pacing, "what am I going to tell Claire? She's going to have a meltdown. Do we try calling Bender's house? One of his parents ought to know what's happening."

Mike nodded, "I need to get out of here for a bit, why don't you head back to Dearing's room and see to your daughter. I'll drive over to the Bender place and let them know what's happening."

Robert Standish shook his head, "I'm not sure if you are brave or gutless for the option you are taking. I don't want to do either." He turned, the walk back to the room felt like one of the longest of his life. He was going to have to talk to Chief Adam Jones first thing in the morning, and probably cancel the golf game. This weekend was becoming a nightmare. When the hell had John Bender become an important person in his life?

He poked his head into Sarah Dearing's room, and quietly said, "Claire, sweetheart can you come here a sec?" It appeared as though Miss Dearing was asleep and he didn't want to wake her.

Claire got up quickly, "What's wrong? You look like something is wrong…"

Robert put his hand on her shoulder, "I need you to remain calm, ok?" This, of course had the opposite reaction. "Dad, please just spit it out."

He sighed, "Well, something has happened to John." He put his hand up to stop her from interrupting, "He was assaulted by Mr. Strickler. He is presently in surgery and I don't know much beyond that. Officer Talmand is on his way to his house to let his parents know what is happening" He put his finger over Claire's lips to once again stop her from interrupting. "Jason Strickler is being taken into custody now, so he won't be able to hurt anyone again. I will be talking to the Chief of Police tomorrow morning, and I can probably arrange to have John put into this room with Miss Dearing. That is if his parent's allow it." He moved his finger allowing Claire to speak now, but there were tears streaming down her face.

"Can I see him? Please? I just need to know he's going to be ok." Claire practically begged.

"As soon as I hear he is out of critical condition, I will make that happen, ok angel?" Mr. Standish pulled his daughter towards him and let her cry hysterically for a while. What neither of them realized was that Sarah Dearing was awake.

"Let's see if we can get you a cup of hot chocolate or something while we wait ok? Miss Dearing needs the sleep and I think an officer is going to be posted in front of her door, especially in light of all of this." Robert ushered his still crying daughter towards the elevators so they could go to the all night coffee shop in the basement of the building.

Completely distraught, Sarah pulled herself out of bed, and holding onto her IV stand she removed all the leads and started towards the critical care unit. She had to know John was ok, especially since this was all her fault.

On the other side of town Mike Talmand pulled up to a yard full of weeds and a house which had seen better days. For the first time that day he was glad he was still in uniform. He parked the car on the street and proceeded up the broken front walk to the house. He almost felt bad waking, them but the boys parent's needed to know what had happened.

He knocked solidly on the door and waited, he tried the doorbell but it didn't seem to work, so he pounded a little harder on the door. After what felt like an eternity, but was probably only a few minutes, the door swung open to reveal a large man in a stained wife beater and an old pair of jeans. "what do you want?" The man all but growled, "if it's about that little bastard I haven't seen him in a couple of days. He should be back he fuckin said he'd bring money."

Mike was stunned at this tirade but decided he had to continue anyway, "Uh, no Mr. Bender, I know exactly where your son is." Joe Bender's eye brows went up, "the little fuck get himself thrown in jail?"

At that a small, mousey looking woman in an old robe appeared. "Joe let the officer inside - do you think we need to heat the neighborhood." The door was opened enough for Mike to enter where he rubbed his hands, but didn't really want to touch anything "So where exactly is John, since he sure as hell hasn't been home" she asked in a somewhat derisive tone, but not with the kind of hatred he heard from Joe Bender.

"Well John is in critical condition at Shermer Memorial, when I left he was in surgery."

Joe Bender leaned back against the door, "someone finally got the better of him, eh?"

The little woman sounded worried when she said, "shut up Joe. What happened officer?"

Mike decided to start at the beginning and get through it as quickly as possible so he could get out of the house, "This afternoon he saved a teacher who was being assaulted by a group of boys."

Joe Bender spat, "He got hurt doing that? What the fuck?"

Mike took a deep breath and tried to remain in control of his temper. "No, actually he assaulted the primary boy injuring the teacher. It wasn't until much later, only a little while ago, he was injured. The young man's father caught him unaware apparently and didn't give him much of a chance."

Joe coughed and lit a cigarette, "so one dude did it? Hell I should have taught better than that."

Mike noticed tears in Mrs. Bender's eyes, "can I see him? I mean can we go down there? Let me just get dressed," as she hurried up the stairs Joe Bender hollered, "there's no god damn rush, he'll be there in the morning. I'm goin the fuck back to bed."

Mike's temper suddenly snapped, "I have no idea how a young man with as many good qualities as John seems to have is your kid Joe. Do you even remember me from High school? I thought you were an asshole then too." Joe was still drunk enough to believe it was a good idea to take a swing at the police officer. Mike dodged the wild swing and grabbed the dirty arm twisting it behind Mr. Bender's back.

"Because I am in such a good god damned mood, I will let that go. If you ever swing at me again I will kick your scrawny strung out ass. And I will be taking your wife to see your son; though why she hasn't left you I do not know." He pulled on the arm a little just enough to cause pain and said, "And if I have anything to say about it, John will never be back here. Do you hear me? NEVER." The last word he all but spit at Joe Bender before dropping him into a heap on the ground.

Moments later, Tina Bender came down the stairs in a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, and a pair of boots. Her face looked freshly scrubbed – she looked younger without all the make-up running down her face. "Ma'am, I'll be happy to escort you to the hospital." He stepped over Joe Bender as though he weren't even there.

Sounding very nervous, Tina said, "uhm I'll call later Joe. Let you know how Johnny is doing."

"Like I fucking care" Joe muttered and walked to the fridge to get a beer.

Pretty please review... it keeps the muses talking to me.


	10. Chapter 10

Tina Bender followed Mike to his police cruiser, and appeared to be very twitchy. "Can I smoke in here?" Mike replied, "If you roll down the window, I don't care."

Mike was content to drive, but apparently Tina was not content with the silence. "I love Johnny, don't think I don't. I know what people say, but it just ain't like that. Joe, well he wasn't always like this; I got pregnant really young, you know, at prom. I'm not from here or anything… but I had an aunt who lived here and my parent's shipped me down. Oh god! Johnny doesn't know Joe ain't his dad. It ain't for you to tell him neither, alright?" She was quiet for a moment, picking at her chipped nail polish.

Mike quietly said, "Mrs. Bender, you don't have to tell me anything."

She cried out in some kind of frustration, "but I oughta, I oughta tell someone… I just ain't ever had the courage, Joe said he picked me up from nothing and he'd kill me if I left and well I couldn't leave Johnny there… that's his real dad's name, Johnny… he was an alright kid, I wish my parent's hadn't whisked me off to this nowhere place." Mike wasn't sure how such a little bird like woman, who was chain smoking, managed all that talking without seeming to take a breath.

Tina Bender turned towards Mike, "John's gonna be ok, right? I thought he was staying with friends or something, since Joe lost his job last year things have been pretty tense. I mean it's hard, but Johnny was putting food on the table for us even if he never really ate anything thing. And he, he… I mean Johnny, he can fix anything with a motor like a genius or something… so someone beat him bad? That's what you said…"

Mike didn't answer for a moment, "look, I signed the paperwork so he could go back into surgery – no one was certain what kind of reception we'd receive at your house. I hope that's ok."

Tina started to cry, quite dramatically, "Thank you, thank you for looking after my boy."

Mike pulled up to the hospital and slid into a 'no parking" spot with his cruiser. He hopped out and came around to help Mrs. Bender. It was nearly 4am and the place looked pretty deserted, she got out of the car and swung her purse onto her shoulder, but waited for Mike to lead the way.

Mike walked up to the courtesy desk, "We're looking for John Bender, is he out of surgery?" Tina spoke up, "I'm his mother, please.."

The nurse searched through some paper work, walked into the back to speak to someone and returned with a doctor, "Mrs. Bender?"

Tina nodded, "that's me, tell me what's going on with Johnny."

The doctor took a deep breath, "The surgery went fairly well; we had to put pins in his hand to stabilize the bones, and well one of his ribs punctured a lung. We got it all taken care of, but the ribs had a lot of calcium deposits, have they been broken before?" Tina looked like a deer in the headlights who could do nothing but nod. The doctor noted this and continued, "His kidneys were bruised pretty severely and we're going to have to keep a watch on them. He's damn lucky his back wasn't broken. Once he's out of recovery we'll put him in the room Mr. Standish requested, the one with Miss Dearing, if that's ok with you, Mrs. Bender." She had gotten very pale, "put him wherever he needs to be for you to take care of him. You know we don't have any insurance or anything right?" She sounded very nervous.

Mike shook his head, "Mrs. Bender you don't have to worry about that right now"; he thought he'd had enough bad news to last a lifetime. The doctor seemed to remember something, "Oh, officer, you need to hear the latest on the Dearing case as well."

Mike spun around, "What latest, last I knew she was sleeping peacefully in her room."

The young doctor shook his head, "she's a determined woman. Somehow she managed to get from her room to the critical recovery room John Bender was in. We found her nearly unconscious and bleeding again; she was sitting next to the young man's bed rocking and crying that it was all her fault. She only let us anesthetize he,r in order to find where she was bleeding, once we promised to put Bender in her room. It was quite a circus there for a minute since the Standishs came in while we were trying to talk Miss Dearing into letting us help her." The young doctor received a page, "I have to go, but they should both be back in their room shortly.

Mike took Tina by the arm and led her to the recovery room so she could see her son was indeed going to pull through. What they found was John asleep on the bed, with Claire Standish curled up at the bottom near his feet with her head on his thigh. Tina stared for a minute, "That his girl? She's prettier than most of the girls I've seen him with."

Mike didn't care enough to reply. He was so tired, and was beginning to feel more than sorry for John Bender even if he did have Claire Standish on his side.

Before long a couple of nurses entered. A small man in green scrubs said "We're taking him to his room now if you want to meet us there." The other nurse, a large man in blue scrubs said, "I don't think the girl will add much weight, and she looks like she needs the sleep." At a look from the first nurse the one in blue replied, "really whose gonna care if we are breaking a rule or two at this hour, especially for the comfort of the patient." So it was that John Bender was transferred to the same room which held a very anesthetized Sarah Dearing and a very tired looking Robert Standish.

Mr. Standish stood as they wheeled the bed into place, "I was wondering where Claire had gotten to," he chuckled. None of the movement, talking of the nurses, or hooking John up to various IVs and devices woke the sleeping kids up. Tina Bender approached her son's bed once the technicians left; she brushed his hair away from his face. She turned to look around the room at the two men, and two women… "These ladies and you…you gentleman …you all care about my Johnny?"

Robert moved towards her and laid a hand on her shoulder, from which she flinched. It made him very sad, but before he could say anything Sarah briefly woke up and heard the question, she answered, "I certainly do. He's a good boy with a lot of potential." Robert Standish looked a little bashful, "To be honest, I don't know him that well, but my little girl is crazy about him, and since I want her happy it seems the boy's well being is in my best interests." Mike shrugged, "He reminds me a bit of me at that age. I would like to talk to you at some point about all the scars he has, but I promise you Mrs. Bender, he's not alone."

Tina nodded, "that's all I needed to know, that my boy is loved by someone." She moved up to the head of his bed and stared quietly for a while. After perhaps thirty minutes she whispered – "God above forgive me sweetheart, I am so sorry. I know someday you'll understand." She kissed his forehead and slipped unnoticed out of the room with tears in her eyes.

Mike had set himself down next to Robert Standish. "I think we could probably head home, catch a few hours sleep, maybe even a shower for me before getting back here. It's possible they'll be asleep that long." Robert sighed and pinched his nose, "while you were gone Mrs. Strickler showed up, her boy was finally seen and there was nothing but a few contusions, a broken nose, and a black eye. Course you would have thought he was dying for all the screaming she was doing. Jason was taken into custody and taken downtown." Mike Talmand nodded saying nothing in response.

The sun was beginning to rise over the buildings of Shermer. Robert Standish walked over to the window and leaned his head against it. "I'm thinking about asking my wife for a divorce, Mike. I tried calling her to let her know what was happening with Claire and all I got was her pissed at me for ruining her good weekend. I just don't like her anymore, hell I wonder if I ever did."

Mike shook his head, "I ain't never been married and I like it that way. So I am probably not the best one to ask about these kinds of situations. Shit, I have to go to the station and write up a bunch of reports. Damn it's been a long day, and I don't even know where the hell my rooky partner went. However, I am going to take my own advice and go home for some shut eye. I am not technically on duty tomorrow so I can do the reports then. I also want to make sure that if Strickler makes bail there is someone watching this door."

Robert Standish looked at him and said, "You're a good cop, and I am glad to have you on our side. I will make sure Adam hears that from me too. Strickler is rich as Midas and so will likely make bail, so I'd be obliged if you set up that security detail before you hit the sack for the day." Mike had to laugh Standish referring to Strickler as rich as Midas, hell he was pretty sure the Standishs were richer.

The two men left the room closing the door as quietly as possible. "Did you see where Tina got off to?" Mike asked.

Robert replied, "Tina? Tina who?"

Mike shook his head, "Bender's mother, she was there, then she wasn't."

Robert shook his head, "Sorry, I didn't notice, perhaps I really do need some sleep. I think I'll call the car service to be on the safe side."

Each man went their separate ways, neither aware that Tina Bender had gotten on a bus home with the intentions of ending the abuse of her son for good.

John laid awake for a little while, considering that just yesterday he was trying to figure out how to get Claire out to the bleachers, and now she was curled up on him like she really did like him. He sighed and fell back asleep.

Shortly after full sunrise none of the breakfast club members, their parents, teacher, or the officers involved knew of the report of gunshots heard from the Bender residence. The two officers who arrived almost an hour later were shocked. One man gagged at the smell and the other walked out and threw up in the bushes; the smell of blood was overwhelming. What they found was Joe Bender lying on his bed with the back of head blown out from a small hole in his forehead. On the other side of the room they found Tina Bender on the floor with a gun in her hand and a hole in her chest. There was an envelope on the dresser addressed: To my beloved son John. The officer put it in his pocket and called the coroner.


	11. Chapter 11

On the other side of town, at Shermer Memorial Sarah Dearing was the first person in the room to wake up. She saw, much to her relief, John Bender in the bed next to her, and somewhat to her surprise Claire Standish curled up at the end of John's bed with her head on his leg. Within a few minutes John woke up with a groan. He tried to lift his head and moaned, but not before he saw what – or rather who – was trapping his legs.

He noted the metal contraption on his hand which was held up with some trapeze looking thing. He reached down and stroked Claire's hair with his useable hand and muttered, "Christ, I feel like I was hit by a fuckin' truck."

Sarah shook her head at the young man, "Nope, not a truck, just a vindictive father."

John turned his head to look at Sarah Dearing, "huh? Last thing I remember is Mr. Standish offering to buy coffee."

Sarah sighed quietly, "I guess you don't remember them waking you ever few hours either then." John shook his head very carefully. She spoke again, very quietly so as not to awaken the girl sleeping on the edge of John's bed, "Apparently Strickler's father swallowed his bullshit hook, line, and sinker. He then decided to take his vengeance out on you. I am so sorry John, none of this would have happened if it weren't for me."

John shook his head, "Nonsense, fuckin nonsense. I assure you I've had my share of beatings in my life, I'll live through this one as well. Hell, it gets me out of detention today, ya know; and if I'm lucky maybe even school for a while." They fell into a comfortable silence when a couple of nurses arrived.

"Mr. Bender it's great to see you awake." A perky middle aged nurse commented. "I think the staff was afraid you were going to fall into a comma, I am very pleased to see that is not the case."

John smirked at her, "Please tell me you have pain killers with you, my fuckin hand is on fire and it feels like my head is going to explode." The nurse walked over to one of the machines and pressed some buttons, and within moments John felt the painkillers begin to take effect. "If you are in pain press this button here;" she showed him a button on the machine, "and you will be supplied more morphine every few hours."

"Morphine? Wow, I must be messed up to be getting the good stuff." As he moved around a little Claire began to stir – she realized where she was and moved very quickly off of him. "Oh god John, I am so sorry I didn't mean to fall asleep on you like that."

He gave her the smile that made her heart melt, "it's all good Cherry, I never mind waking up with a beautiful girl in my bed." He beckoned her closer and gave her a kiss.

Sarah laughed, and tried not to wince as she did so, " you two ought to get a room."

Claire grinned, "What are we outside? I can't believe it's Saturday."

Sarah rolled her eyes and sank back into the pillows, "fuck I hope Vernon realized I couldn't be there."

John grinned at her cussing about Vernon. "Really Miss D, he saw you yesterday, he can't possibly imagine you'd be up to babysitting detention,"Clair announced.

Sarah sighed, "I should call him anyway, can I get you two to stop being so loud and distracting." Since they were both being very quiet and trying not to fall asleep again her statement made them both snicker.

John had patted the bed, "come on up here Cherry, keep the injured boy happy." Claire snuggled into John's less injured side. She smiled and kissed the side of his face. "I wonder where my father went, not that I'm wishing him back immediately or anything." She smiled and kissed his neck, in the same spot she had a week before. John smirked "Ever imagine I'd get you in bed this quick, Cherry?'

Claire laughed, "I'd smack you, but since you're injured you'll get away with it this time." She snuggled in, and John muffled a groan. "Did I hurt you?" John said nothing for a minute, "maybe a little, but I really don't want you to move."

Sarah called into the school office and received no answer; she thought for a moment and tried Vernon's office directly. He picked up the phone on the second ring. "Someone better be dead."

Sarah coughed a little, "nope, no one dead, but I wasn't sure if you knew not to expect John Bender or myself at detention today."

Vernon sighed, "I wasn't expecting you, thus my own presence, but how exactly would you know where Bender is, Miss Dearing?" he wondered if the rumor about her and Bender was true.

"Pull your mind out of the gutter Vernon," Sarah stated in her most teacherly voice, "He's lying in a hospital bed you idiot.'

It sounded like he spit his coffee, "Someone finally get the better of that little shit?"

Sarah Dearing was getting angry, and you could see her blood pressure rising. "Why don't you come see you spoiled ass." With that she hung up the phone. "Gods above I hate that man."

The last comment caused a chuckle followed by a groan from Bender. "uhm, do you know if anyone called my folks?" Sarah nodded, "your mother stopped by earlier, I don't remember much though, sorry."

Claire gently touched his cheek; she saw the look of despair on his face. "Figures she didn't stay long enough for me to wake up or anything." At that, Claire kissed his temple gently. "I'm sorry John."

"It's nothing, hey, she came down; it's more than I really expected." And he ended the discussion of his family. "Hey Miss D"

Sarah rolled her head and looked at him, "what did I tell you? I refuse to answer to Miss D here, so just stop it. I'm just a person, not a teacher while we're both lying in hospital beds."

John sighed dramatically, "Sarah, so uh, what did V-man have to say?"

She replied, "Nothing of significance before I hung up on the jackass." That caused all three to chuckle.


	12. Chapter 12

First, thank you for the reviews - they keep me writing! Second, I don't own any of the BC characters and all that stuff.

Robert Standish decided to play the round of golf with the chief of police, figuring it would be just as easy, maybe easier, to talk to him on the green than over the phone. They met at the club house at the Shermer country club. Adam walked over and shook Robert's hand, "ready for me to whip you again this weekend?"

Robert grinned, "yeah, only if you cheat again." Both men grinned and started towards the green. "So, I don't suppose you heard what happened yesterday and last night… "Robert tried to sound nonchalant.

Adam turned and looked carefully at him, "Well I heard a couple of stories, which one in particular are you asking me about?"

Standish sighed and leaned on his club, "I haven't had enough sleep to really beat around the bush here so I guess I'll just be honest."

Chief Jones burst out laughing, "Well that would be refreshing Standish, I've always known you were just a rotten to be a liar.' He continued laughing at his own joke. Everyone who knew Robert Standish knew he was generally brutally honest no matter what.

Robert took his shot then said "I am talking first about the teacher who was assaulted at Shermer high yesterday."

"Yeah, I heard about it, but I don't think I have the whole story. We've got a rookie, named Jimmy something or another, who filed a report stating that Tommy Strickler saved her from a bunch of burn out kids, namely one John Bender. However, his partner Mike Talmand, he's one of our old timers, hasn't gotten his report in yet and there were some things that didn't quite jive in Jimmy's report so I'm waiting on Talmand's. Course I'll have to kick his ass for not getting it in." After his commentary he took his shot, he put his club away, picked up his bag and started the walk towards their balls. "Why do you want to know?"

" Don't ream Talmand too hard, he was at the hospital most of the night. And before you ask, I know because I was there too. Sarah Dearing, the teacher in question, is my daughter's English teacher, and she was one of the kids on the scene. When I got home yesterday Claire was a mess, she told me that her new boyfriend – one John Bender – Christ I don't think I'll ever get used to saying that." Adam's eyebrows shot up," you'd let little Clairey date a guy like that?"

"Don't think I was all for it believe me, but let me finish my damn story will you?" Rob groused good naturedly, he took his shot and made par with a grin. "beat that."

Adam shook his head, "ok, so finish your damn story."

Sorry, uhm, so I get home and Claire is a mess, she tells me this long story about her boyfriend, and a bunch of other kids she's gotten to know, pulling Tommy Strickler and a bunch of jocks off the teacher – told me Strickler had his hand up her skirt, his hand pulling her hair, and she'd already been beaten up pretty good. Well I let Claire take her mother's car, who went for a spa weekend because her life is so fucking stressful, but anyway. A few hours later I get a nearly hysterical call from Claire saying the Strickler's were at the hospital causing trouble."

Adam stopped walking and looked around, "I think I need to sit down to hear the rest of this, want to take a break and come back to, where the hell are we anyway?" Robert chuckled "6th hole, are you sure you aren't getting old?" Adam smacked him in the arm, "you're older than I am!" However, the two friends walked back to the club house; got themselves something to drink and went to sit in a secluded area outside the main house.

Robert Standish told Adam the long story of the previous night in as much detail as he could. The chief of police polished off his drink and was quiet for another moment, "Talmand's off the hook, but if what you tell me is true, and you've never lied to me before, that rookie needs an ass kicking; I need to make a visit to the precinct then to the hospital. I think I need to talk to the teacher, and as much as it stuns me to say this, John Bender. Think we can try this game again tomorrow? I need to take a care of a few things."

Robert shook his head, "I don't mind, I think I need to retrieve my daughter from the hospital and make her get some real sleep, I'll put money down she's not been home."

The men waved as they went in opposite directions.

Back at the hospital, John was nearly asleep again, but woke up when Claire got up. She brushed his hair away from his face, "I need to go home, get a shower and maybe a few hours sleep. I'm gonna call the rest of the gang and we'll be back later." John looked like he wasn't happy. "Is it that you don't want me to leave or you don't want me to call the others?" Claire was getting good at reading him.

John shook his head, "fuck, I don't know. I sure as hell don't want you to leave Cherry, but I'm not sure I want the others to see me lying here like this." Claire leaned over and kissed him gently, "I'm calling anyway, and you need to rest. I promise I'll be back in a few hours." She smiled and winked at him, she stopped at Sarah's bed and asked both of them, "Can I pick anything up for either of you while I'm out?"

John shook his head, "not unless you can bring me smokes or… no cherry I'm all good." Sarah thought for a moment, "I'm not sure when I am getting out of here… but I sure would like a book and some clean clothes."

Claire said to Sarah, "ok, where do I find what you need?"

Sarah blushed a little, "top drawer of my dresser for the undergarments and a nightgown. And uhm, there are a couple of books on my bedside table; any of them would be good."

"Got it, and I'll be back, John if you are really good I'll even bring you real food."

"nothing with raw fish please." Claire laughed as she headed down to the parking garage. She arrived home at the same time her father did. They parked the cars and got out at nearly the exact same time, "Hi Daddy, how was your golf game?"

"Morning angel, are you just getting in?" She nodded, refusing to blush or feel bad about it. He smiled at her inability to keep from blushing, "I suspected you slept there. How are they doing?"

She was a little surprised at his genuine interest, "Ok I guess, John's in a lot of pain, but Miss Dearing seems a little better. Dad she told me what the doctors said about her insides, it's awful. Apparently one of the boys tore something inside of her! I didn't know something like that could happen."

Robert Standish pulled his daughter into a hug and kissed the top of her head, "it only happens when someone is especially violent – something you should never have to worry about." He held her tight, "want to go out and get some lunch once you've showered and changed, maybe even a little shopping?"

Claire let herself feel safe in her father's arms, though she realized she felt safer with John. She shook her head, "I am going to lie down for a while then see if Alison, Brian, and Andy want to go see John and Miss Dearing." She pulled away, "It's so strange; Daddy a week ago I feel like I was a different person. I was someone who was only interested in clothes and shopping. I didn't realize bad things could happen or that people like John and Allison were more real than any of the so called friends I've had since elementary school. It's like my whole world is changing. And, well, I don't think you and I have really talked in years.. is it just me or are you changing too?

Robert sighed, and ran the back of his hand down her face. "I think you are helping me change too angel. Not sure, maybe it's something in the water." He smiled at her. "Go take a nap."

Claire climbed the stairs to her room and she heard the house phone ring knowing someone else would get it she made her way into her bedroom, stripped and got in the shower. She couldn't help thinking of John, she knew he would love that she thought of him in the shower. Maybe, if he was lucky she'd let him know. However, she was so tired she decided not to blow dry her hair. She was asleep before her head hit the pillow.

Robert Standish brewed a pot of coffee and sat down to watch the news, he was tired and really not up for work at the moment, but he thought perhaps catching up on the new wouldn't be a bad idea. The first story made him get up and leave the house without a note or changing clothes. He drove directly to the hospital, worried about the young man who had become so important to Claire in the past week, and him over the last 24 hours. He drove as fast as he could, praying the whole time that John and Sarah didn't turn the news on.

Back at the hospital John and Sarah were growing bored, the Saturday morning cartoons were about to give way to the news. John begged her to turn it off. "I feel shitty enough; I don't want to know what fucked up things are happening here or in Chicago."

Sarah said, "come on, I'll give you extra credit in my class if you just watch the news with me today. I promise I won't make you do it every day. I just feel really out of touch. If extra credit isn't encouragement enough, what do you want?"

John thought about it for a minute, and scratched at the hair growth on his chin, he really needed to shave. "I want to know about you, I saw the scars and stuff on your arms, and well I know you have kind of a thing for me." He wagged his eyebrows and smirked at her.

Sarah sighed,"I guess you deserve some info and I guess it's time I told someone, but don't even joke about that, me having a thing for you crap, not right now. I have one condition though.

John got himself a little more comfortable, "ok, shoot. What's your condition?"

Sarah thought about it carefully, "I don't want you telling people, or feeling sorry for me or some shit like that. Well you can tell Claire because she probably saw some of my nightmares, but no one else, ever. Ok?"

John shrugged, "Ok, I have no problem with that at all. Uh, do I have to actually like pay attention to the tv or can I work on sleeping?"

Sarah grinned a little, "I think if I am giving something, you have to do the same. So that means you have to pay attention."

Sarah turned the TV back on just as the early afternoon news had already begun, "one of our top stories today a homicide/suicide here in the quiet town of Shermer." This was said by the pretty brunette newscaster. We turn now to Bruce who is on location outside of the house" The picture of a tall blond man, John said, "I think he looks like a living Ken doll, don't you Sarah?" Her only response was, "shh"

John turned his attention back to the television and the blood drained from his face, he turned the volume up as loud as it would go… the living Ken doll was already talking. "Police found the couple sometime early this morning. It appears as though Tina Bender shot her husband from point blank range while he was sleeping then proceeded to use the same gun to shoot herself in heart." John suddenly jumped out of the hospital bed with a hiss of pain. "Please tell me you have cigarettes, Please, this can't be fucking real. I have to be having some kind of fucked up nightmare and I am going to wake –up really hung over…" He picked up the phone and dialed a number, "come on, come on ma, answer the damn phone." When there was no answer he slammed the phone down, then he ripped it out of the wall socket and threw it across the room.

Sarah had turned the news off, "Oh my god, John I am so sorry."

He looked at her with a wild look of rage in his eyes, one that poorly covered an intense amount of pain. "Don't say that, don't fucking say that!" John yelled. A nurse who was a little younger than Sarah and quite pretty entered the room.

"Did you need something Miss Dearing? Mr. Bender, you really shouldn't be out of bed, your ribs won't heal correctly, and your hand needs to stay elevated" John was pacing back and forth by his bed.

Sarah quietly said, "he needs a wheel chair, and someone to take him outside for a few minutes."

At that moment, Mr. Standish came into the room. "John, are you ok? Shit, you've apparently heard, did a police officer stop by?" Sarah shook her head, "I made him watch the news…I didn't know."

John stared at Mr. Standish, "I don't suppose you have any pot? If not a fuckin cigarette would be nice. The fucking news… thanks a lot Miss Dearing" He spit her name out. An intern arrived with a wheel chair, "uh am I interrupting?" Robert Standish gave the intern a withering look, "yes, leave that please and go away."

"Look John, I know you have no reason to like or trust me, but I left Claire asleep and I am willing to help you outside, will you let me?"


	13. Chapter 13

Claire was startled awake by the ringing of her phone, "hello" she answered groggily wondering what time it was. Allison was speaking so fast Claire could simply not understand her, 'Alli, please I just woke up… what?"

"Holy Shit, you don't know, have you see the news? John's parents? His mom killed his dad then herself…"

Claire bolted upright, "I have to go" and she hung up on Allison. She pulled on the jeans she had on yesterday and grabbed the first t-shirt she could find – ran a brush through her hair and bolted out of the door. She never questioned where her father was, only that she needed to get to John.

At the hospital, John stared at Robert Standish for a moment, he was, a week ago this man was everything he hated, but right now he knew he had nothing, no one, so why the fuck not. "Sure, why the fuck not; what can you do to help me?" He sat down in the wheel chair because he was aware if he didn't sit down soon he was going to pass out and then he'd look like a fucking moron.

Robert nodded at Sarah Dearing, "if, no when Claire calls or shows up, tell her we'll probably be in the atrium." Robert wheeled John out of the room, and dropped a pack of cigarettes in his lap. "I had to guess at the brand, and I please don't tell anyone I bought them for you, but I figured you'd need one right about now."

The Atrium was a manicured garden near the back of the hospital where there was a designated smoking area, Robert took John there. When they arrived, he handed John a lighter, packed himself a pipe, and sat on a bench beside John. "I don't know what to say."

John looked at him for a minute. "What the fuck is there to say? I mean could my life get any more fucked? I don't know why you let your daughter near me. Fuck, I didn't even get to say goodbye to my Ma. The old man I could give a shit about, but ma… as shitty a mother as she was at least tried sometimes."

Mr. Standish looked at him for a moment, "She came to visit you know. I don't know how long she stayed I was talking to Mike the whole time, but she did come to see you."

"Gee that's nice, sorry your hurt kid, but I gotta make you a fuckin orphan now." John shook his head and lit another cigarette. "I just fuckin wish… fuck… why? I mean why she didn't just divorce the fucker like a normal human…." His heart felt like it was going to explode but, he refused to cry, especially not in front of this man.

The two men sat silently smoking for a while when suddenly two people entered the atrium, first Claire came running full speed up to John and threw her arms around him. "God John, I just… I just had to see you.. are you ok? Is it ok that I am here?" He put his face in her hair and breathed her in, just having her arms around him somehow made the tragedy his life had become somehow more bearable, "It's always good to have you in my arms cherry" He pulled her down onto his lap in the chair and just held on to her as though she were the last solid thing in the world.

Robert felt as though he was somehow intruding, but it was his Claire… and apparently this boy meant more to her than everything in her life up to now. It made no damn sense, and yet it somehow made all the sense in the world.

Following behind Claire at a more appropriate pace was Adam Jones. "Hey Robert, want to show me to the room that teacher is in?" He saw the discomfort Standish felt at watching the two kids, he even felt a little of it himself. However, he cleared his throat. John and Claire pulled apart when they heard it. Adam approached the wheel chair with the two adolescents in it, "I'm not sure you are really following hospital protocol, but at the moment who cares, right?" He stuck out his hand to John. "Hi, I'm Adam Jones, please call me Adam. I have known Claire and her family for about a million years." John looked stunned and looked at the contraption on his right hand, and stuck his left hand out to the man. "uh, hi."

Adam figuring the kid might know who he was. "I worked pretty hard to make sure you didn't have to identify anyone, but well, is there anyone to take care of the arrangements for your parents?"

John looked confused, "arrangements?"

At this point Standish stood up, "We'll talk about that later John, you just need to work on healing, and well keeping my angel happy as you can, alright?"

John shook his head; this had to be the twilight zone, or candid camera or something. "Uhm, yeah, sure thing Mr. Standish." The two men left the area and Claire stayed attached to John.

"Are you ok, really?" Claire asked softly.

"I don't know princess, I don't know if it's really hit me yet, I feel like I want to hurt someone, punch something, get as stoned as ever in my life, and hold on to you for even longer… I don't want my hand or my head to feel like its exploding… fuck, I don't know." John buried his face in Claire's hair, resting his forehead against her shoulder. "What the fuck was she thinking? I mean Jesus fuckin Christ I'm in the hospital for trying to actually be a decent guy and she goes and makes me a fuckin orphan too? I mean it's not like I liked them, or they liked me, but what the fuck…" All of this was mumbled into Claire's shoulder, and she thought she felt tears… not that she'd mention it. She stroked his hair and held on to him, letting him say what he wanted.

As Standish and Jones left the atrium, Adam said, "there was enough information in the shithole of a house I don't need the kid to identify the bodies, thank god. But someone is going to have to take care of the arrangements, and then there is the kid. This gets more complicated all the time Rob." Just as he finished talking they arrived at Sarah's room.

Robert entered first, "How are you doing Sarah?"

She shrugged, "as good as can be expected I guess. I'm worried about John though."

Adam moved into the room watching, but not saying anything, her face looked pretty beaten up but what concerned him more was the small wince when she moved her abdomen. "Good day Miss Dearing, I'm Chief Adam Jones. Are you up to answering some questions?"

Robert nodded to them both, "I'm gonna go get some coffee and check on the kids; can I get you anything?" Sarah said, "I'd kill for a latte, not the crap they call coffee here." This caused Adam to chuckle and shake his head, "no, I'm fine Rob." Standish left the two of them in the room and closed the door quietly.

"I'm sorry I have to do this, but I have pretty conflicting stories from a number of sources. Can you let me know what exactly happened yesterday?" Adam asked as gently as he could.

Sarah shrugged and went over the story detail by detail, sometimes trembling, sometimes with tears flowing down her face. He then got an uncomfortable and said, "I have to ask this, Tom Strickler said you were in a relationship of a sexual nature with Mr. John Bender. He said he saw him coming from your home several times."

Sarah sighed, "look I couldn't help but see the abuse he was suffering, so I offered him a safe place to sleep and eat."

"You know you are required to report abuse if you see it at school." Adam said, again in a gentle tone.

Sarah sighed again, and pushed the sleeves of her nightgown up - her arms were covered in scars from cuts and burns from what looked like cigarettes and cigars. "Chief Jones, I was put into the system when I was 16. I was taken from one abusive home and put into other abusive homes, some worse than my parents were. I just can't see myself doing that to another kid, I can't and as I understand it John is nearly 18. it was so bad that I didn't understand what a healthy relationship was, I ended up marrying someone just like my dad – he beat the shit out of me on a regular basis, he caused two miscarriages and he killed my son. The sonofabitch went to jail, but he got something like a slap on the wrist. I moved here and changed my name. I'm sorry, but I just couldn't do something like that to John, he's a bright kid who has potential. Do you know what I mean?"

"Now given that information, do you really think I would be dumb enough to sleep with a student?" Adam shook his head. "I get it. And none of what you told me will be on the record."

Sarah smiled, an actual smile for the first time since Adam met her, "Thank you."

"Are you almost done in here? I don't want to disturb you, but I really think I need to lie down" John said from the doorway, Claire pushing the wheel chair behind him. Sarah looked at them, "How long have you been there and how much did you hear?"

John shrugged, "I'll be honest I'm in enough pain right now that AC/DC could be playing live in the room and I am not sure I'd recognize it."

Claire got him over to his bed, and after three times of trying to get up, Adam came over and helped get him into bed. Claire called for a nurse who came quickly to rehook John up to the IV's he'd pulled out in his initial rage. Claire pushed his hair away from his face and kissed him on the forehead. "I'll be here when you wake up, I promise sweetheart."

The pain medication started working and John smirked, "sweetheart is it? I think I like that Cherry." She good naturedly said "Shut up."

Within a few minutes John was asleep. Chief Jones sighed, "I really need to talk to him. This whole thing is damned cluster fuck, and I don't know quite know how to handle it all."

Sarah stopped him, "Adam? Do you think it would be possible for John to stay with me until he turns 18?" Claire piped up, "He could stay at my place too." Chief Jones arched a brow, "Are you sure your Dad is gonna want your boyfriend living in your house Clairy?" He turned to Sarah, "It's possible, but we'll see. I can't make you any promises Miss Dearing."

Chief Jones really needed a drink, this whole situation was a mess, but he still needed someone to talk to Richard Vernon, if he really told the kid he could do anything he wanted he not only was going to lose his job, but someone needed to kick the shit out of him. He rubbed his hand over his face, didn't making Chief of police mean he got weekends off?


	14. Chapter 14

Adam Jones walked to one of the concierge phones and called Mike Talmand who likely was sitting at his desk. Good thing he knew his cops well; Talmand picked up on the third ring. "Shermer police Talmand speaking"

"Hey Mike, Its Adam."

"Chief, to what do I owe the pleasure of your dulcet tones on this fine Saturday afternoon? I thought you had a golf game or something" Mike ribbed his old friend good-naturedly.

"Yeah, fuck off Mike, game got postponed. Look I just left Sarah Dearing's room; sorry, had to figure out if the rookie needs an ass kicking or you need a kick in the head."

"No apology necessary, just didn't expect you to go and do all that police work on your own." Mike ribbed again and leaned back in his chair. "Now I am sure you didn't call me to shoot the shit, what can I do to actually make the rest of your day a day off so your wife doesn't kick your ass and mine?"

"Sally will be fine, and I did this as a personal favor to Standish. I need you to talk to Richard Vernon, find out if the kid took his words wrong or what kind of bullshit he was spewing. I also need someone to talk to the Bender kid, figure out info on the gun, the drugs, in the house, etc and last I checked the front yard was a damned media circus." Adam ticked off the things he wanted Talmand to handle. "Damnit, I know I am forgetting something."

Mike pulled himself up to his desk, "Do I have to take Jiminy cricket with me?" He said in reference to his young partner.

Adam nodded to himself, "Of course, someone has to teach him how to do his damn job. It's lucky I like you or I'd bust both your asses for that piss poor excuse of a report. The kid must have been a jock to swallow the line of bullshit Strickler was spewing."

"Fuck! I forgot, Bonnie Strickler posted bail for her husband. Do you think that's a problem for John or Sarah?"

"Damnit, what happened to the good old days when judges didn't work weekends? Transfer me up to the front desk and I'll have a cop posted outside the door to make sure their alright."

Mike smiled, but before he transferred the call he commented, "I think judges started working weekends about the time police chiefs did. transferring now boss man," which he did before Adam could holler at him.

The chief set up an around the clock police presence to keep an eye out for Strickler. He was worried that the man would try to get at these people in some other, more devious way from which he couldn't protect them until after the fact. On that depressing note he went home to hug his wife and kids.

Mike Talmand and James Triny, who Mike only ever called Jimmy or Jiminy, arrived at Shermer High school at about 2:30 in the afternoon. "Do you think the school is even open on a Saturday?"

Mike gave Jimmy a sidelong look, "did you ever get in trouble in high school? They should still be holding Saturday detentions, and I would rather catch Vernon here, where he feels comfortable then try to talk to him outside what he feels is his element."

"Do me a favor, try not to listen to all the wrong people and then write it in a report and turn it in today, ok?" Mike asked in a fairly snide way.

They entered the building and made their way to the office which was locked. "Let's see, Bender and Claire said detention was held in the library and Vernon's office was close to that." He turned to his right and started towards what looked like an open door. Luckily Richard Vernon was sitting at his desk doing paperwork.

Mike looked around and noticed pictures which seemed more appropriate to a garage than a vice principal's office, but sat down in a chair in front of the somewhat rickety looking metal desk, motioning for his partner to take the other seat. "Good afternoon Mr. Vernon." He had apparently been very engrossed in the file he was reading since he hadn't noticed the two men enter and sit down in front of him.

Completely surprised, "Uh, afternoon gentlemen, what can I do for Shermer's finest? I gave a statement yesterday when you arrived on the scene."

Mike already disliked this man, he felt like a used car salesman. "You've already given us a statement, but we have some questions regarding your interactions with Tom Strickler, and John Bender."

Mike took some satisfaction noticing that Vernon's face paled at Bender's name, but not Strickler's. "According to Miss Dearing, Strickler said some pretty inflammatory things to her, including," he flipped back through his notes for a moment, "that you, Mr. Vernon had given him and I quote, "the right to do anything he wanted so long as he brought the team another championship."

Vernon's face paled and he tugged at his tie, "I sure as hell didn't mean assaulting a teacher, if that's what you are implying!"

Mike flipped back a page or two and asked, "did you tell him he had and I am quoting again here,

'you can do whatever you want to that bitches pet burn-out'?"

Vernon's eyes got very large, "of course not, no I mean, I'd never say something like that."

Mike looked up, "which part? Calling a faculty member a bitch or referring to students as pets? We'll get back to that in a moment; I have a few questions about your interactions with Mr. Bender."

Vernon sat back in his seat; sure he could cover this with no problem. "We've heard from more than one source that you have a personal dislike of him."

Vernon shook his head, "I have no personal love for him; he is a menace, he is a bad example for students, he destroys school property, regularly skips classes, brings drugs into the school, brings others down with him," and suddenly his words got away from him, "he's a worthless brat who shows nothing but disrespect for anyone in authority and deserves what he gets when he treats people that way…" It suddenly occurred to him that perhaps she shouldn't have said all of that. "I don't mean he deserves anything… I mean he's just so damn hard to deal with. You don't understand what it's like having him all but spit in the face of the good students and teachers who come here to get a good education." Vernon thought he covered pretty well for himself.

Mike arched an eyebrow, "so stopping a bunch of star athletes from beating and nearly raping a faculty member is spitting in the eye of good students and teachers? There's really no need to answer that Mr. Vernon, I think we have plenty. If we have any other questions I am sure we can find you." Mike stood up and walked out of the office without offering to shake the man's hand, he was sure he'd have to wipe the grease off if he touched him anyway. "Jimmy I'll meet you out by the squad car." With that he walked out of the building and wondered for the first time if perhaps his wife had been right and the kids should go to some kind of private school.

Jimmy shook Vernon's hand. "You'll have to forgive my partner, he's been really wrapped up in this case, and with the death of Bender's parents I think he's feeling touchy."

Vernon paled a bit more, if that was possible; "what do you mean the death of Bender's parents?"

Jimmy said, "You've been here all day and probably missed the news, yeah, it was a really awful scene according to the guys who found it. I guess it was a murder-suicide, and after Tom Strickler's father worked John Bender over it was probably a pretty nasty blow. Mike had just met the kid's mother and all. Anyway, I have to run; else Mike is likely to leave without me. Have a great day Mr. Vernon. We'll be in touch if we need anything else." Jimmy practically ran out of the school building, really a little afraid Mike would leave him there. He didn't know why Mike had been so rude to Vernon, he was just trying to do his job and well kids like Bender probably didn't make it any easier.

Vernon dropped back down in his chair and put his head in his hands. "Fuck!" Had he known any of the information the kid, or cop, well no kid had just given him he might have been better at reigning in his tongue. At this rate he might as well just pack his office up at the end of the school year.

Mike and Jimmy spent the rest of the day hunting down the various football players who had been named as being involved in the attack on Sarah Dearing; of course, none of them knew a fucking thing, they were all at practice. They'd gotten exactly nothing more until they reached the final door of the final student on the list, one Kevin Morganstern. Mike rang the doorbell, and a kid answered, "Good afternoon, would you be Kevin Morganstern?" The kid nodded and opened the door wide enough so they could come in.

"My folks aren't home, but if you want to ask about the attack on Miss Dearing, I'll be happy to answer you."

Mike and Jimmy looked at one another, Jimmy started, "if you are sure, as a minor you don't have to answer anything without your parents here."

Kevin shrugged, "I wasn't in favor of what the others were doing, and I didn't think the coach would think much of it either; but hell Tom Strickler scares the shit out of me so I couldn't exactly tell him he was being an ass. Look what they did to her was fucked up, and I ain't so rich or havin my head stuck so far up my ass not to know that it was fucked up. I didn't really know who to talk to, I mean Tommy said he had Vernon's permission."

Mike took a deep breath and felt like he finally hit pay dirt. "Can you just tell us exactly what happened on Friday afternoon?"

Kevin Morganstern gave them information from the planning session on Thursday when Strickler said he didn't get Miss Dearing to change his failing grade, to the approach, and even what happened when the jocks heard a scream of rage from Bender who yanked Strickler away from the teacher and proceeded to 'beat the tar' out of him. Kevin admitted a little bit of awe of Bender's ability to just take Strickler out like that. When the jocks realized it wasn't just Bender, but Andrew Clark as well, they scattered as quick as they could, everyone knew Clark could take down anyone in the school.

When the two police officers left the Morganstern residence Mike felt a good deal better about his day, the kid had said he would testify in court about what happened if they needed him too. Miss Dearing was a nice lady and a really good English teacher, and Strickler was nothing but a bully who he couldn't respect after he saw him for what he really was.

Back at the hospital, Andy had picked up Allison and Brian and showed up in the early afternoon. Claire was sitting by John's bed having a quiet conversation with Miss Dearing over John's sleeping form. They all noticed John holding on to Claire's hand in his sleep. Claire smiled, but didn't get up. "Hey guys! I'm sorry there's not a lot of seating, but the couch is pretty comfy. A nurse came around and gave John a sedative and pain medicine not long ago, so he's probably gonna be out for a while."

Andy asked, "What's with the cops at the door? Did our names get put on some kind of list or something?"

Claire chuckled, "Yeah, kinda. Mr. Strickler got out of jail this morning and apparently there is some fear he'll come and try to hurt Miss Dearing, or finish the job of trying to kill John."

Sarah chuckled, "no need to be bashful about it Claire, your dad and the chief of police made sure there was an officer to protect us, and asked you for a list of people you thought should be allowed in." Claire blushed a little; "did you really have to tell them all that?"

Sarah nodded, "it's payback for telling me I have gray hair."

The breakfast club an talked for several hours, each of them noticing that Claire never let of Bender's hand and when he got at all restless she stroked his hair.


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I don't own or make money off any of the BC characters or their original story. In other news I am sorry I've slowed down my posting so much. I had a fairly painful medical procedure done and I am only beginning to recover... I hope to pick up the pace of the story soon.

The rest of the breakfast club spent as much time with John, Claire and by nature of the room Miss Dearing, on Saturday till a nurse through them out.

Saturday night, Claire went home long enough to shower and change clothes, but she came back deciding she'd sleep better in the reclining chair next to John than she would in her own room anyway.

When she crept back in a little after ten that night. It looked like both Sarah and John were asleep so she quietly set her things down and sat in the recliner. She wanted to pull it closer but she didn't want to wake anyone.

"Don't you have a big comfy bed at home Princess?" John asked quietly without opening his eyes. Claire jumped about a foot, "I thought you were asleep, and well I realized I'd sleep better here, in a chair next to you, than in that big fluffy bed anyway…uhm…I guess I didn't ask what you wanted." She suddenly sounded very unsure of herself and cute as hell from what John could tell so he opened his eye and noted that she did indeed look cute but also very worried.

"Of course I don't mind you wanting to be here Cherry. I know I have irresistible charm." He smirked at her in his traditional kind of sarcastic manner, but grabbed her hand and rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand. "Seriously, the fucking tragedy my life has become is somehow made better by you just wanting to be around me."

Claire smiled and leaned over to give him a kiss on the cheek, he turned his head so she was kissing his mouth instead, after a few minutes which left them both breathless. John said, "You don't have to sleep in the recliner though, I am pretty sure you've fit up here beside me in the past day or so."

Claire looked bashful again, "I don't want to hurt you."

John chuckled, "didn't I just say you make things better? And what, about me, makes you think I wouldn't tell you if you were hurting me?"

Claire smiled in a way that made John certain the whole room lit up as he scooted over to make space for her. "she nuzzled into his neck and kissed him gently."

"Hey now, no funny business, not that I don't seriously want to do business with you beautiful, just don't think I'd be on top of my game." John stated in mock seriousness.

Claire snuggled into him, called him a pig and told him he needed to shave. She also snuggled into him and he pulled the covers over them both. Sometime during the night they ended up on their sides, John available arm wrapped around her, and Claire pushed far enough into him that she'd wake up to a surprise if he couldn't figure out how extract his arm without waking her. He managed to get up and use the bathroom, which he'd insisted upon doing from the first day they admitted him, and climbed back into bed to spoon Claire a little longer.

When he next came to the sun was brightly shining into the room, it must have been much later than he expected since his room was full of chattering voices. Bender woke up before he showed any signs of it as years of protective instinct had taught him; Claire however, noticed the slightest tension in his muscles; she put her hand on his head and stopped stroking his hair. She leaned over feigning a kiss on his temple to whisper, "I can send everyone away, but they are all really worried." She then did kiss his temple and sat back down in her chair.

Andy who'd been paying attention to all the little actions between them said, "so are you two officially going out or something, I mean I didn't think either you or Bender were very touchy feely and you haven't stopped touching him."

Claire replied, "He's asleep, and I like touching him, a lot. Are you jealous or something?"

Allison choked on her coke and said, "I think Sporto here is just jealous you get to touch Bender and he doesn't." Andy gave her a horrified look, "you all know that's not true right?"

John opened his eyes, "I knew you had a thing for me Sporto." His trademark smirk was firmly planted on his face, though his eyes looked kind of sad, rather than their standard angry. He turned his head and kissed Claire's hand as she went to pull it away. "I don't mind you touching me princess, promise." He said it very quietly, almost as though he didn't want the others to hear him.

"So you guys have wasted your Sunday watching me sleep?" Bender said sarcastically.

Sarah chuckled, "How do you know they aren't here to see me? You are awfully conceited aren't you Bender."

John turned and arched a brow at her, "Bender?"

"Sorry I suppose it's too much listening to your friends discuss you. And besides we had a deal and the last time you referred to me it was as Miss Dearing, now wasn't it." She smiled as though she'd won a contest.

John let his head roll back, "I don't think it should count since I was talking to a cop."

Sarah spoke up, "speaking of cops John, before he left Adam said he wanted to talk to you as well."

Again with a single eyebrow raised he conveyed his confusion, "Adam who?"

Claire snickered a little and ran her fingers gently through his hair relaxing him without realizing it. "I think she's referring to Adam Jones, you know the Chief of Police."

That caused him to tense up, "fuck, it hurts to even think about moving my right hand. Why would the Chief of Police want to talk to me?"

Claire stroked her hand over the knuckles of his now clenched left fist, relaxing them, "there's probably any number of reasons. He wanted Sarah's side of the attack, he might want yours, or he might want to talk about your folks." The mention of his parents caused John to tense up again.

Brian, was the first to say anything about that particular situation, "I'm really sorry to hear about all that Bender. If there's anything I can do for you, please let me know."

Bender took a deep breath and bit back the sarcastic remark, "Thanks dude. I know you all want to say something sympathetic or some shit, I get, and I really don't want to fuckin hear it. I didn't like them, they didn't like me, now they're dead and I get to figure out the rest. Ok, just leave it."

"Hey Sarah, uhm, do you know when you're getting out of here? And since I've apparently slept most of today away, any idea when they'll let me out?"

Sarah Dearing put her book down and looked over at the group, "I haven't heard anything, so probably not today; I think we've got at least a day or two out of school. When was the last time you had an actual real excuse John? You know, not one you created yourself?"

Bender laughed, "you think I've ever stooped to writing an excuse? Or that they'd accept one from me?"

For the next few hours things were comfortable and the group all joked and laughed about anything not serious, John held his side each time he laughed and after a while Claire noticed tension around Bender's eyes.

She stood up and announced, "It's getting kind of late guys, maybe we ought to let John get some rest. Besides I think visiting hours ended like an hour ago, and there is school tomorrow." She squeezed his hand and leaned in to whisper at him again, which never failed to sent shivers down his spine. "You look like you could use a rest, is that ok? Nod once if it's ok that I'm kind of taking over and twice if you want me to stay." She stood up and he nodded, smirked then nodded again. She swatted him and mouthed brat but smiled with something in her eyes that simultaneously made him feel like a king and made him want to run away.

Claire walked her friends to the hospital entrance, "So, I'll see you guys tomorrow, yeah?"

Allison looked carefully at Claire and scrunched up her face a little, "You aren't leaving are you?"

Claire laughed, "What gave me away"

Allison responded, "You mean aside from leaving your coat and purse?" A grin spread on her face, "You've got it so bad."

"Shut up and I'll talk to you later or something."

Claire grinned as she walked back towards the elevator these were people she felt like she wanted to know for the rest of her life and she hadn't thought about one of her so called best friends since school let out on Friday.

While she was waiting at the elevators, out of the corner of her eye she saw someone who looked like Jason Strickler. The door to her left opened and she hurried inside the elevator frantically pushing the door close button hoping she had imagined, or incorrectly identified the man who was also waiting. Unfortunately she wasn't, Jason Standish got on the elevator just as the doors closed, leaving the two of them alone.


	16. Chapter 16

Damn, damn, damn, the last line of chapter 15 was supposed to read Jason Strickler… please forgive my medicated mistake, and I promise a new chapter tomorrow.


	17. Chapter 17

I don't own any of John Hughes characters, nor make any money from this …. But I hope you like it anyway.

John closed his eyes for a few minutes, he figured Claire wouldn't be long and he did have a headache, but they didn't stay closed for long since Robert Standish and Adam Jones entered the room shortly after his friends left.

Mr. Standish and Chief Jones stopped and chatted with Miss Dearing for a bit. John had turned off the lights except the one over his head. He tried to rest, but could not help but listen in on what was said.

Sarah greeted them both warmly. "The doctors say they'll release me in a day or so. I'm not sure about John. While his kidneys seem to have weathered the storm ok, the doctors are worried about his hand."

Robert Standish leaned against the bed, "we are keeping an armed guard outside of the room until you decide whether or not you are going to press charges."

Sarah's eyes got a little wide, she'd not really even thought about the idea. "I haven't thought about it, but I don't know why I shouldn't; is there some reason I shouldn't?"

Chief Jones spoke quietly, "Well there is the boy, and I am not sure what is going to happen there, I think he should press charges - and well his case will be stronger if you press charges as well. That said, Jason Strickler is a dangerous man."

Sarah choked a little, "I've noticed, and the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Tom Strickler is just as dangerous, he's simply not full grown. Yeah, I guess,.. I suppose I do want to press charges. I did nothing wrong, and I was badly injured so I don't see a reason not to, especially since we know the perpetrators."

The chief nodded at her and Robert Standish started chatting with her about unrelated topics, it sounded like he had kind of a thing for Sarah Dearing. Interesting John thought.

Chief Jones chose that moment to walk around the pulled curtain to stand at the end of John's bed. "I know you are awake, son."

Bender opened his eyes, "yeah, but I have a killer headache so I turned the lights out. Besides I'm not gonna fall asleep before my girlfriend get back." He said with a hint of a smirk.

Adam walked around to the chair Claire had been sitting in just a few minutes before, and John wasn't sure he was all the comfortable with the Chief of fuckin police sitting next to him, what next were monkeys gonna fly out of Vernon's ass. He realized the dude was talking and he's zoned out.

"uh, sorry sir, can you repeat what you said?"

Adam smiled, "which part?'

John sighed a little, "well the whole thing, see you sitting next to me, being nice to me and all is a little twilight zone for me."

Adam shook his head, "First how about we do this," Adam stuck out his left hand, "Hello John, my name is Adam."

John shook his head a little, but shook his hand, "I really get to call you Adam?"

Chief Adam Jones nodded, he decided at that moment it was time someone started treating the boy with a little respect, so maybe he would learn what it was to be respectful. "I hate recounting this shit, but you and I are not so different – my dad's an abusive drunken ass, and my mother took off when I was a kid. I got out of there the moment I could."

John snorted, "yeah well apparently my ma took care of that for me."

Adam pulled out an envelope, "I'll be honest, forensics had to look at this to confirm if wasn't written under any kind of duress – but it's for you." He handed John the letter his mother had written before killing her husband and herself. He looked at it, and then set it on the table next to his bed for later, maybe much later reading.

"As I understand it, you are less than a year from 18, so I'd rather not have to put you in the system. But the fact is, you need a responsible adult to help you out, and I am kind of stretching the law a bit here, but I'll both give you the choice and let you hold the decision till the docs release you. How does that sound?"

"Uh, I'll be honest, I'm still pretty sure someone is gonna jump out and announce this is candid camera, or some shit like that, but well Sir, I'll be happy to take that offer. Uh, thanks. I don't really know what else say."

"Someone does need to talk to you about your folks and well some of the things found in the house. I can try to get Talmand if you'd prefer."

"Yeah, he's one of the few cops, present company excluded of course, who doesn't treat me like scum cause of how I look."

Adam laughed out loud, a full belly laugh. "It's a good thing most of my men didn't see me in the late sixties. I had hair down to my ass."

John laughed and for the first time in a very long time he felt like he might have some hope. John's bedside phone rang, he picked it up and answered, "County morgue you stab'em we slab'em what can I do for you today?" Adamn laughed for a good few minutes about that. "Sure Sporto, if Big Bri wants to grab my homework that'd be cool." John laughed, "his mom really wouldn't let him call cause it was too late?" John howled at that. "Alright dude, I'll see you later, and if you don't let me off the phone I will begin to think you want me more than Ali again," He smirked and hung up the phone. Then he got a confuse look on his face and looked over noticing Claire's purse and jacket.

Adam asked, "what's wrong?"

"uh, like, well it's probably nothing, but Claire should have been back by now… she was just walking the guys downstairs and Andy called he's home… uhm, I'm just well, like, kinda worried all of a sudden."

Adam stood up, "Well I need to stretch my legs anyway, so I will keep an eye out for your wayward girl."

With that he walked to the other side of the curtain and gave Robert Standish a look that asked if he'd over heard the conversation. Apparently he had, because he told Sarah he'd be back and the two of them left the room as though they were on a mission.

Claire stared forward at the door, trying to make herself as unnoticeable as possible. Strickler knew exactly who she was, and he pressed the stop button on the elevator.

Claire pulled a mantle of fearlessness that John had inadvertently taught her, "What the hell Sir, I please start this machine immediately."

Strickler chuckled a little menacingly, he'd had a few shots before deciding to see if he could find any of the burnouts little friends – they all needed to pay for what they did to his Tommy – he didn't expect to his pay dirt. This little girl had kicked Tom when he was down, and she was sure as hell mouthy. Jason figured he'd have to do some time for beating the shit out of that little nobody, so he didn't really care what he did now.

He grabbed Claire by the hair and pulled her both back and closer to him, "I know who you are you stupid cunt. Your helping you little friends spread lies about my boy.'

Claire, though frightened, was really pissed by that statement of pure fantasy, "You know we aren't telling lies, he is."

Jason smacked her hard across the face, then picked her up a little by her hair, Claire was whimpering both in fear and pain. "I bet you're the one Tommy said was fuckin that nobody, along with the teacher – do you share him? Maybe I ought to just try out the wares. I think I'm gonna hurt you just a bit girly, and you are gonna tell that fuckin burn-out to forget any charges or I will find every girl in his life and hurt her the same way."

Claire spit in his face and kneed him in the stomach causing him to drop her, she twisted her ankle a little, but went directly for the emergency button on the elevator to make it start or have someone notice there was a problem. "Oh no you don't" Jason grabbed her by the back her neck and squeezed hard enough to leave a bruise, there was a faded hickey John had given her back before things went crazy. "Excellent, proof that you are a lying slut trying trying keep your burnout out of trouble." He pulled her up by the neck, and shoved her against the wall of the elevator and punched her in the side of her face, causing her to momentarily black out.

When Claire came to, Jason was straddling her,holding her down by feeling her up, and talking about nasty horrible things he was going to do to her; suddenly the elevator jolted and stared moving again. There wasn't enough time for Jason to move before the door opened to Robert Standish, Adam Jones, and a hospital maintenance man – "Yeah, sir, just as I figured, the stop button was pressed from the inside," This from the maintenance man, who apparently didn't see the horrible sight presented to the other men.

Adam grabbed Jason Strickler off Claire and out of the elevator before the maintenance man finished speaking – Robert moved to his daughter who was sitting up sobbing. Robert picked her up and carried her out of the elevator.

Adam became Chief Jones in a split second, "You are under arrest, you have the right to remain silent, anything you say can be used against you in a court of law, you have the right to a lawyer, if you don't have one a court appointed lawyer will be made available to you, you sick son of bitch." He finished reading the Miranda rights and jerked Strickler to a standing position by the cuffs. Jones pulled him over to the officer standing watch in front of the room. "Do me a favor and take this piece of scum downtown and book him. I think these too will be safe while he is off the streets.

Robert had found a chair and was holding on to Claire, who was sobbing still. "Angel, I think a doctor needs to see you" Claire shook her head, climbed away from her father and ran full speed into Sarah and John's room, she climbed into John's bed, still sobbing and shaking"

John had just fallen into a light sleep, which he blamed on the pain killers when Claire came barreling into the room, and climbed onto him. He didn't care about his ribs, or anything besides the girl sobbing in his arms, which he wrapped around her as well as he could and pulled a cover up over her. "Princess, sweetheart, what the fuck happened?" Her father and Chief Jones followed her into the room as quickly as possible. John was doing everything in his power to calm her down, not that he had a fucking clue what to do. He rubbed her back, and noticed that her shirt was ripped, he noticed every mark and contusion on her, and used all his power to swallowed his rage.

John looked up at the men standing at his bed, "How the fuck did this happen? Are the rest of my friends in danger?" He let his rage come through for just a minute as he continued to rock Claire. "Can someone get a fucking doctor in here to at least stop her from continuing to bleed?" He asked incredulously. Sarah pulled the curtain back, "I just pressed the button for an emergency."

Claire was wrapped tightly around John, he didn't care that it hurt a little, he just wanted her to smile and be ok. "Come on princess, you gotta calm down some, we need to know what happened. She tried something John had done dozens of times – she put her face by his shoulder, kissing distance from his neck, his hair in her face and she breathed in his scent; he smelled a little sweaty, a little more antiseptic than usual, but there it was, the scent which was just John Bender… and that smell calmed her down some, she laid her head on his shoulder and kissed his neck. John smiled down at her, knowing exactly what she'd done, "cherry you do realize your dad and the chief of police are standing her watching right? I don't have any great urge to be castrated."

She settled herself to the side of John, but made no other move away from him. "I tried to get the elevator closed before he could get on…" She told the whole story, with her fingers intertwined with John's, looking down at them, not allowing him to make the fist he wanted to make. "He said if he couldn't get directly to John or Sarah he'd find the people around him, specifically, she nodded towards John. He didn't get the chance to hurt me the way he wanted, thank god, and you two, but he said I was supposed to be some kind of warning."

Robert Standish had given in to the knowledge that he had somehow lost his daughter to a boy who, at present, amounted to an orphaned juvenile delinquent. But he knew if he pushed, or tried to pull them apart he'd only lose Claire more. "Actually Angel, it was your John who got worried first, and got us to go hunting for you." No one looked as surprised as John at the statement.

Claire wrapped her arms gently around him and kissed his chest. "Thank you John." She said very quietly. She put her head back on his shoulder, can I do all the police stuff in the morning? I just want to stay right here and get some sleep." She turned quickly to John, "If that's ok with you, I mean, like, if I'm being too clingy or something I can just go." John ran a hand down the unbruised side of her face.

"I'll make you a deal cherry, you let some doc check you out head to foot, and then this space right here, and he patted the bed next to him, is totally reserved for you." John said as though he were making some kind of devious transaction.

Claire just nodded. When the nurse and doctors who had responded to the emergency call saw her nod they helped her up, and into a wheel chair, "I feel silly, can't I just walk"

Robert chuckled, "Angel, do you have to argue with everyone?"

The doctor wheeled her out to be checked over. John took a very deep breath and sighed, he leaned forward as though he wanted to put his head in his hands, but realized he couldn't, so with his uninjured hand he punched the bed as hard as he could.


	18. Chapter 18

Adam put his hand on John's shoulder, "Look I have the impression that you might just be homicidal, or at least so filled with rage you want to hurt someone. Do me a favor and don't make it Clairy. She seems to need you a lot right now." John's initial look filled with anger and rage had settled into something closer to worry and if Adam could still read people, Love.

"If you can simply keep it tucked away for a little while longer, I'll make you a deal soon as your hand is out of that contraption, I will take you down to the shooting and teach you to shoot. I can promise there is no better way, short of actually killing the son of a bitch, to help soothe that beast inside." John didn't know what to think, his whole life people had pushed him aside and treated him like shit, he didn't even know if he should trust this guy.

"I've never hit a fuckin woman and I sure as shit wouldn't start with Cherry… I mean Claire." John chose to reply to something he knew he could answer. He took a deep breath, "speaking of which do you know when this contraption might come off? And uhm, since I'm technically a minor and all, who signed all the paperwork and shit?"

"Your mom signed some of it and gave a verbal agreement to Mike and Sarah to sort of be her proxy; she seemed to know ahead of time what she was planning, I'm sorry to have to tell you. I'm have to go home or my wife is going to kill me. I do, however, suggest you read that letter son." He stood up and put his hand on John's leg; think about what I said, and my offer to teach you to shoot stands good any time, alright?" John just nodded, he had no idea what to think or say to this man. He was normally on the other side of the law, and here was the chief of police offering him shit. He looked over at the letter, picked it up, and looked just at the front for a minute: _To my beloved son, John Bender_.

When the fuck had the bitch ever shown he was beloved. She never stood up to his old man, and she stayed even though they were both being beaten and abused. She... what was the fuckin word… verbally, hell emotionally abused him for years. He wasn't even sure he knew if he wanted to know she had to say. He played with the envelope for a few minutes, then curiosity got the better of him and he tore the envelope open, and unfolded the letter:

_Johnny, _

_Sorry, I know you hate that nickname, but you'll always remain my little boy. I know you won't understand why I left you alone. You and I both know I was a shitty mother, you deserved better. No matter what the asshole I married ever said to you – know you can do anything. Before I left I made sure there were people around who cared about you. Don't push them away._

_Like I said, I kind of sucked at being your mom. You need to know, Joe Bender is not your biological dad. It's a real like long story, but uh, you deserve highlights or something I guess. I used to be one of those Richies your Joe hated so much… as Prom I well, got you. His name is Alex Grey, that's the name of your dad. I'll be honest, you know I am kind of a whore; and well I just don't know if he'll even remember me. My parents, who are assholes by the way but I think you knew that, well they shipped me to an aunt sally and uncle George. I think they are assholes too, but I thought you deserved some kind of family. Joe used to be charming, and he was nice to me, and he told me he'd adopt you. I thought I was showing my parent's up. I thought, I thought I found a guy who would make me better than them, cause it wasn't about the money. _

_Anyway, you don't want to know this stuff, but you gotta know I am sorry. Johnny, you will always be my prince, you took Joe's abuse when I couldn't, and well you grew up so I you could take care of me. You are a good Man. Don't ever forget it. Don't push away the girl who loves you, I think she can teach you who you really are… go to college, have a good life, you can do anything. Cremate our bodys, I don't want you to remember us except as someone you are better than. _

_I'll always be able to watch over you from the otherside, maybe I'll get to be a good mom in the end. _

Inside the envelope with the letter was a check for almost quarter of a million dollars, made out to John. It was his mom's nervous handwriting and in the why section was J college fund. By the time he finished the letter he had tears streaming down his face; he pulled his knees up and laid his head on them, and cried.

Claire was pronounced basically healthy, she'd have a great black eye, and she had a split lip, and she had the some bruised ribs, and she was pretty terrified. She refused a wheel chair back to the room; when she entered, it was late. She quietly walked over to John, she ran her hand down his hair and down his back, startled he looked up with streams of tears running down his face, his eyes so full of pain that Claire physically ached for him, but he was so broken, she needed to let her know what he needed, what he was willing to accept.

He wiped his face on the sheet, and for a moment he stared forward, Claire waited with her hand in his hair, on his back and she saw so many emotions pass over his face. John quashed his reaction to be mean and nasty and push her away. He could hear his mother's voice, "don't push away a girl who loves you". He was so fuckin tired of being along, he looked up at Claire, searching for something. She tried to show him she wanted him, all of him, the good, the bad, and the ugly – he made her feel safe, and excited, and so many other things she didn't even have words for. He must have found what he was looking for because he leaned over, pulled Claire on the bed, wrapped his arms around her, broken hand down so she could lay in the circle of his arms, and he cried, like he never had before in his life, like he had never allowed himself. He decided in that moment if she fucked him over he'd just fuckin die.

Claire held John as tightly as he held her, she had been terrified tonight, and she was hoping John could be there for her, but seeing that letter in his hand and the tears on his face made her forget everything except making it ok for him; the combination of his pain and her terror made her cry as well. In the end, they fell asleep holding on and giving everything to the other, everything that mattered, really.

The next day was Monday, but after Claire's night she wasn't even attempting it. It was pretty late in the morning when Claire and John woke up, almost simultaneously. Each looked like they'd fallen asleep crying. John ran his finger down her face and kissed her nose. Claire moved the hair out of John face, in the same gentle way and she kissed his eyes. John smirked, "ya know I could get used to waking up to you each day, course I'd prefer if we were both naked."

Claire laughed as much in relief as in revolt at John's commentary. He wasn't going change, she should have known better. So Claire pushed him gently, "do you always wake up thinking about sex?"

John laughed, "I'm a normal human guy, so of course. Geeze you'd think a girl with your reputation would know."

"What reputation?" Claire looked absolutely confused John just had to kiss her again.

"Princess, in the last three days or so you haven't really left my side, and I don't really want that to change, even when we're at school; you also have a pretty spectacular black eye and bruise on your cheek. So, uh the reputation you are going to get for uh, dating me."

Claire suddenly beamed, and gave John her most radiant smile, "John Bender, are you asking me to be your one and only girl friend? I thought you didn't believe in that crap." Claire was smirking now, kind of enjoying making him squirm a little.

"Fucking christ Claire," He shook his head so his hair was in his face. "Yeah you're my girl, and I guess that means I'm your guy. No other girls considered or nothing. That alright with you Claire Stanish?"

She kissed him soundly and they kept kissing until a cleared throat at the end of the bed. They sprang apart to see a grinning nurse, and an embarrassed looking technician. The tech stuttered a little, "Uh.. I mean.. .uhm, Mr Bender, we have to take you to, to , to uhm.. x-ray to check your hand." Clair climbed off the bed after one more kiss. "I'll chat with Miss Dearing while you are gone." John looked a little green at the idea she'd heard all that.


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the characters I've created. I'm not making any money off this, though by the gods I wish I could. Since I made you folks who have been so good at reviewing wait. I made this chapter extra long and should have a second one up by morning. By the way, the * means a change in scene.

While Bender was waiting in x-ray, several doctors came to speak with Sarah Dearing. "Miss Dearing, we believe you are ready to leave the hospital. It has been 24 hours since you have passed blood, we can have your ankle casted, and there is really nothing more a stay here can do for you. So as soon as you are ready to fill out the paper work we can release you." Sarah thanked them and looked over at Claire, both women looked equally worried.

Claire piped up," Maybe they'll release John too, I mean aside from his hand he's been ok, right?"

The x-ray techs did their job, and John who normally bantered with everyone was unusually quiet. "A doctor will be in to see you about the results." He really didn't know what to make of this turned around fucked up life. Fuckin JC on a stick, Bender wasn't even his Dad, the sonofabitch adopted him? For what? So he had someone to kick the crap out of? And Mr. Standish, Chief Jones… that was one for the records, he knew he had a pretty think juvy file, and well the dude obviously hadn't read through it if he was offering John anything. He still just didn't understand. He walked back to his room, and Claire was sitting in a chair between the two beds talking to Sarah Dearing. He came in and flopped down on the bed, only to realize his mistake with a grunt of pain. Claire jumped up, "John! Are you ok?"

"Yeah, sure princess, pull your panties out of their twist, I just landed too hard on the bed, forgot my ribs are all busted and shit, must be great medication they give." He smiled at her but that was really all he had to give, so he turned to stare out the window by his bed. He needed to think.

Claire was a little hurt by the action, but turned to Sarah who shook her head in a leave it alone kind of way. So she sat back down to continue quietly chitchatting

John's thoughts were flying through his head. What were his options? Did he try to find the dickhead who knocked his ma up? Did he move in with Miss Dearing and fear for the rest of the year that some jock would think she was free game? Claire, much as her old man was beyond fuckin cool just would not be a great idea. Then there was this check, fuck… couldn't he just get his own apartment? He needed to talk to someone who knew about money. Damn, there was just no fuckin way this was not gonna sound weird, "uh, Cherry? Do you think your dad is gonna stop by today? He mentioned something and I wanted to get a bit more info, ya know. and uh, think you could take me out to that smoking area he found?" He was super proud of himself, he didn't demand, he wasn't even a smartass.

Claire stood immediately and moved behind him; "is there anything you want before you head out?"

"Now that you mention it, uh, that letter, and my wallet, I think I'll get a coke on the way back or something. Thanks." He would have patted himself on the back if he could – see not only was he not being a dick, no matter what he wanted to say, he even said thank you.

Claire kissed the top of his head and wheeled him to the arboretum. "Are you sure you want me to take off, what happens or you get tired, or don't feel well, or want to comeback."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa cherry, calm down. I'm a big boy, I am sure I will figure something out. I just need some space to think, alright? Com'ere." He pulled her down on his lap. "Now listen up Princess cause I'm not repeating myself. I like you, you make me feel, fuck I don't know something… something good. Like there's light or hope or something, and for some sick and twisted reason you like me back. That makes me the luckiest sonofabitch around, and if you're willing to put up with me, I'm willing to give it a go. But you gotta fuckin calm down, breath and shit."

Claire smiled that smile that make John contradictorily king of the universe and more terrified than at anything in the world. The she kissed him, licked his lips to gain entrance and ran her tongue along the side of his, she took the initiative and after about 10 minutes of making out, she jumped off his lap. "Damn Cherry, I'm gonna have to sound like a fuckin pansy more often if that's the reaction I get." Claire smiled because she knew that underneath that gross commentary was the heart of a poet. Claire started to walk away with a slightly exaggerated sway just for John, she giggled when he wolf whistled at her. Just as she was about to pull the door open and leave the room she hollered, "Hey John, You make me feel like that too." And she left the room. John couldn't help but grin which stayed on his face until he went back to thinking about his issues.

Monday morning came bright and early to the Shermer Chief of Police. He'd been out of his house since 7, and up since 5. He got into the office at 8am, a little before most of the office was really bustling. He walked out to his assistant," morning Cheryl, "can you get me a couple of files – one is a juvenile John Bender, the other is Joe Bender". He went to get himself a refill of coffee, when he turned to ask Cheryl she was already gone. Damn he didn't know what he would do without her. She returned with two very thick files. "I would have gotten you coffee too, but you pulled another speedy Gonzales routine."

Cheryl smiled, "Thanks Adam, but you know I am trying to give up caffeine. And besides with the deaths I knew right where they were."

Adam nodded and said his thanks. He walked into his office with the reports from Talmand and Triny, damn he hoped the kid wrote a better fuckin report this time or he'd make Talmand teach him until he got them right, course the kid might quit first. He had his own notes from Rob Standish, and then he'd met the kid. That was not what the Juvi file read. If he went only by previous reports the kid was menace to society and a prison inmate who hadn't been caught yet. But this was not the kid he'd met. Something just didn't add up and he wasn't sure what it was, with that he opened up the equally large file belonging to one Joe Bender.

Adam took lunch in his office, reading, thinking, taking notes. He went home, kissed his wife, played with his kids, but the problem of John Bender still ticked in the back of his mind. He sat down late Monday night at the kitchen table with his wife. "Babe, I'm working on something sort of off the books, it's kind of a gift to Rob, but here's the thing: I have a juvy file as thick as my forearm, and a, now deceased, parent who abused this kid for years whose file is equally as thick for petty charges, possession, stealing stuff like that, but well here's my problem, the paperwork says this kid is a bad nickel. I should do everything in my power to just make sure no good kids get caught up with him right?" At that moment his wife poured him another cup of decaf coffee before sitting down. She didn't interrupt him, or ask any questions, "but here's the other part; my gut says he's a really good kid whose been given the shaft by everyone. I just don't know what to think here."

His wife patted his hand and kissed the top of his head as she stood behind him to rub his shoulders, "well which make you a better cop, your gut or your reading files?"

Adam chuckled and kissed his wife's hand. "you always cut to the crux of things for me love."

She kissed his head again, "If your gut says this is a good kid, he probably is; the paperwork probably only shows one side of the story, right?"

Adam smiled, "Yeah, except to say he's one mouthy kid with a problem with authority."

His lovely wife left the room chuckling, "you don't know anyone who was ever like that, do you."

The next morning found Claire moving quietly around the room at about 5:00am. She realized she had no reason to miss another day of school. She really didn't want to leave the comfort of John's arms, but she had to go home, shower, and get ready for school. She had no idea what kind of nonsense she would find, but she did have to go.

When she finally collected the last of her things she kissed John on the temple, which caused him to open his eyes. "Heading off to Shermer Hell? I mean high, nah, I really don't."

She nodded and he noticed a bit of fear in her eyes. "Babe, you don't have to tell anybody anything you don't want to."

She stomped her foot, "That's not what I'm scared of silly. I really don't care what those vapid girls think any more, it's more the jocks I'm scared of… and you won't be there with me."

John sat up a little, he reached over to the little table next to the bed. He picked up a box, "one of the cops brought me some, I guess trinkets, he thought might be stolen if left at the house." He pulled out a small, tasteful, but magnificent emerald ring. "This was my mom's, guess it's all she really kept from the life before she met my d..joe." He picked up her right hand and slid it on her ring finger, it fit perfect, which caused them both to smile. "Now you can just look at that and know I am with ya. Ok?"

Claire hugged him with such intensity it caused him to grunt a little. "Oh gods, John I keep forgetting your poor ribs."

He waved off her apology, "If you are willing to throw yourself at me, I am willing to deal with a little rib pain," He chuckled with a mischievous smirk on his face.

"You are such a brat sometimes." She playfully smacked his chest. "Good thing I love you anyway. So, I'll be back after school," She leaned in and gave him what started as an innocent kiss and quickly became something more, he actually pushed her away after they were both breathless, "Do that again Princess, and I'll never let you leave." With that Claire scurried out of the room.

Sarah was awake for the little interchange; she had been waiting for a moment to talk to John when there weren't a bunch of people around. So when Claire left the room and shut the door quietly behind her; Sarah pulled the curtain between the two beds back. "Hey John, I know it's pretty ridiculously early, but I want to talk with you about a few things."

John pushed the button which moved his bed into a sitting position, "Sure Sarah, I guess it has been a few days since we've not had a bunch of visitors. What's on your mind?"

"Well, I'm gonna get straight to the point; I want you to come stay with me till you turn eighteen. You can do anything you want after that, but well, I think if you are with me we can help each other out, and I can be sure you'll actually finish rather than disappearing." She sighed deeply as if a huge weight had been lifted from her chest for just speaking her peace.

"I have some worries that you'll continue to get shit from people if I am there."

"John, has it ever struck you that I really don't give a flying fuck what others think?" He was taken back because well, she didn't usually use language like that.

"O..ok then. You know, you don't have to, I ain't a charity case… can I tell you something too?"

Sarah nodded, "Of course, but I'm not done yet." She pushed the sleeves on her nightgown up, and opened a few buttons which made John's eyes widen. "Stop being a perv, I have a point to make." Across her arms and upper chest were criss-crossed scars from what looked like a variety of weapons. John had more than a few of his own scars so he knew immediately what they meant. Very quietly Sarah started talking, "You asked for some answers a some time ago, and I still think you deserve them. I was born into a household where drugs and booze were more important than anything else. My mom sometimes worked as a whore, she sometimes brought the guys home. My father sold pot, coke, heroin, and whatever else he could get his hands on. If I wasn't out of the way I was beaten or drugged. I was so fucked up that I married a guy just like my Dad. I didn't know there were other options out there. I stayed with him even after he caused me a lot of pain."

He gave me one beautiful thing, a beautiful baby boy. When Joey, that was his name, was two. One day I had to run to the corner store; I thought Joey was asleep." She stopped talking for a moment and appeared to be reliving the memory, "when I got home the baby was at the bottom of the steps, blood was everywhere, and he wasn't crying. The sonofabitch I married, I refuse to give him the title of father, was sitting at the table snorting coke. He told me he'd planned on checking on the kid when he was done." She stopped again, her hands were shaking, she seemed to do something to still herself, "I called 911, but I already knew he was gone. See at 14 or something I'd been removed from my parents home because apparently they were a danger to me or something, but I was place with people who beat me, treated me like a slave, sometimes sexually. What I am trying to get at is that, I think, I'd like to be someone who could show you a different way than your parents did to love, I want to be able to show you there are other options. Ok, I'm done"

John sat kind of stunned, "damn makes my life sound like the brady bunch."

Sarah shot up, "don't do that, don't compare, and don't deny your experience. Your life sucked in a lot of ways, maybe differently than mine, but well" she ran her hands through her hair. "Fuck, do you understand what I'm trying to get at?"

John nodded, and simply handed the envelope to Sarah. She opened it and the check fell out, she didn't get a chance to read the letter because John started talking again. "What I want to know is if she had that money someplace why did we stay with that asshole? She apparently knew better at some point in her life, and yet she allowed me, my life to be totally fucked," he said bitterly. "Look if Mr. Chief Adam is true to his word, I'll stay with you till I graduate. Alright? Though I gotta know, why the heart to heart before sunrise?"

Sarah smiled. "I'm being released today. And I think, it's possible depending on yesterday's x-ray of your hand and ribs you might be as well."

"Most excellent." John was pretty sure getting out of there ranked up with one of Claire's kisses.

Later the same morning, Mike Talmand and Adam Jones came into the room. "Morning Sarah, Morning John." Pleasantries were exchanged, and just as Mike was going to sit down and talk with John the x-ray tech came to take him for tests. The two men sat down and Adam said, "so I hear you get to fly the coop today."

Sarah nodded, "depending on what today's x-rays show it's possible they'll remove the pins and John can leave today or tomorrow too. Uhm, I don't know if John wants to tell you this or not, but he agreed to stay with me until he graduates. Is that deal still good Adam?"

Adam squirmed a bit uncomfortably, "I try not to ever go back on my word. Are you sure you are safe with him?"

Sarah gave him a look somewhere between pissed and incredulous. "What the fuck kind of question is that? At personal risk to himself he protected me! I know that kid better than any goddamned file you might have read Chief Adams, and yes, the answer to you stupid fucking question is unequivocally YES." Both Talmand and Adams decided they never really wanted to piss her off again.

Sheepishly he said, "I thought so, but I had to ask."

She gave him a very nasty look, "No, you didn't. I'm just happy you waited till he wasn't in the room to ask it. I didn't realize the Chief of Police made it a policy to get skittish kids to trust them only to prove they don't deserve it." She picked up a book and made a point of ignoring them.

It seemed like a really long time before they brought John Bender back into the room, he was in a wheel chair again, but there was a cast on his hand rather than the pins. That had to be good, he also looked pretty out of it. Mike looked at the tech who helped John into bed. "Is he coherent?" The tech nodded," he refused to be put out for the procedure, so he's awake and basically coherent, but in a lot, and I mean a lot, of pain. I am hooking up this IV again. John, is it alright if I put an IV of pain killers back up?" John nodded, though it looked like the movement cost him something. Mike stood up, "look kid, we can always come back."

John winced, but made no noise and raised the bed so he was in a sitting position, "nah, what can I do for Shermer's finest?"

Mike squirmed pretty uncomfortably, "well there was a fair amount of drugs retrieved from your parent's home, and aside from the box Triny was supposed to give you, he did right?" John nodded. "Was that normal?"

"You're asking if it was normal for my parents to use drugs or are you asking if shit like that is supposed to happen? To the first, yeah, perfectly normal, to the other, I wouldn't know, but I guess probably not, hence the question. It was typical for me to come in and check to make sure my ma was breathing, ya know, make sure that she hadn't OD'd or something equally stupid. It was normal for my old man to beat the shit out of me too. If I didn't hand over any money I might have had, fuck, I remember being seven or eight, we'd gone to see my ma's relatives for some holiday or another and the bastard picked me up and shook my fuckin pockets out to take the five dollars I'd gotten. Then he fuckin dropped me on my head and kicked me. As far as my life has shown me, that's normal. What else can I tell you gentlemen?"

Both men looked a little green around the edges, though Adam looked angry more than anything. Adam thought for a second, "have you made any decisions?"

Bender leaned himself back a little, "Yeah, Sarah kinda talked me into staying with her, saying she wasn't sure I'd graduate and stuff. That still ok?" Adam didn't even hesitate as he nodded which he congratulated himself on.

Adam finally found his voice, "Yeah, that's fine. There is one other thing though, we have found some relatives of your mothers, but none on your father's side" John interrupted him, "that rotton SOB was NOT my father."

Adam nodded, "alright, do you want us to contact anyone? And well they can't stay in at county forever, did they have plots or something?"

John sighed, "look I want to talk to Mr. Standish about a few things, and then maybe I can give you an answer? Also, uhm, with my folks dead and all, would Sarah be my legal guardian or would I get emancipated or something?"

Adam shook his head, "I don't really know, I'll have to look into it. At present, I'm inclined to make her your legal guardian. At least until we can explore the other option. I'll talk to her about it, alright?"

John laughed, "Hey Sarah, is that ok with you? I know your penchant for overhearing shit."

She pulled the curtain back; she was sitting fully dressed in street clothes reclining on her bed. "Yeah, that's fine with me, is there paperwork for me to sign Chief?" Adam winced as he noted she still refused to call him by his name.

Claire walked into her house on Tuesday morning and it felt like a different place. Someplace she didn't know any more. She didn't want to wake anyone up so she crept up to her room. She pulled off the clothes she'd been in since yesterday and climbed into the shower. While it was a little painful on her still bruised back it felt wonderful to be clean. She was beginning to hate the smell of hospitals. She decided she couldn't dally in the shower any longer if she was going to be even remotely on time. She looked down at the emerald ring on her hand with a smile and decided she wanted to wear something that made it look even better than it already did. She settled on a red cashmere sweater and another pair of jeans; ever since Jason Strickler had attacked her and tried to get his hand up her skirt she just hadn't felt comfortable wearing one. She pulled on a pair of brown leather boots and settled down to do her makeup.

She was still shocked every time she looked in a mirror. Since the attack her black eye had become a deep purple ring, the red on her cheek had settled into a deep purple bruise as well, and while her lip was no longer swollen it was still split. She was glad no one could see the bruises on the rest of her. She looked down right battered. She used all her skills with makeup to hide the bruises as much as she could, it didn't hide them completely but she thought she did a fair job. She picked up her purse and thought about her backpack, but remembered how painful the shower had been and realized the doctors had been right, it was going to be some time before she could really use her backpack again. She dug her few folders out, put her pens in her purse and added the other odds and ends typically in her backpack to her purse, she giggled as she thought of Alli's purse on Saturday. The additions made the purse a little heavy, but not nearly as bad as the backpack would have been. She played with the ring on her finger. She put her single diamond in her second hole and put a pair of emerald earrings on as well. She decided it was the best she could do, she looked longingly at her bed for a moment then put on her watch and headed down the stairs.

Her father was up drinking coffee and reading the paper. "Morning Angel, I wasn't sure you were gonna try making it in today."

She shrugged and poured herself some orange juice, "I don't really have a valid reason not to go, and well I feel like I am leaving Andy, Ali, and Brian to weather the storm on their own."

He smiled at her, "You are very brave." She shook her head, "no, I'm not, but I'm working on it." They smiled at one another. "Since uhm Mom is back, she is right?" Robert Standish nodded with a pained look on his face, "could you give me a ride?"

He drained the coffee from his cup, "with pleasure, means I get a few more minutes of you." She didn't know what was up, why her Dad seemed so different lately, but it was nice so she wasn't going to push it. "Oh Daddy, John mentioned he wanted to talk to you about something – do you think you could…"

He smiled at her, "Yes sweetheart, I'll check in on him, and find out what he needed." The ride to school was short, and as they arrived her Dad commented, "Remember what the doctor's said, no heavy lifting, do you have your note from the hospital with you?" Claire looked embarrassed, but nodded.

She looked at the high school, it felt like it had been a million years since she'd been inside, so much seemed to have changed… she saw all her so called friends standing with a group of jocks… suddenly she felt like she couldn't breathe. The door to the BMW was jerked open and suddenly Allison was in her face, "Breathe Claire, in and out…." Just seeing Allison helped her calm down somewhat, Allison kept repeating, "In and out…. You're doin just fine…"

Mr. Standish looked over Claire's head, "I am not sure she's ready for this, maybe she needs another day off." Claire vehemently shook her head. "If not now, when." She said almost to herself. "I'm sorry to have scared you Daddy… it's ok, I promise." She leaned over to kiss him, and as she was doing that her purse and folders were taken out of the car by Andy and Allison.

She got out of the car and said, "Thanks guys, I don't know what just happened." Allison rubbed her back gently, "looked like a classic panic attack to me. Promise me you will come find me, or Andy, or even Brian if something like that starts to happen? I know we don't have a lot of classes in common, but well"… Allison started scribbling something on a piece of paper when she handed it to Claire it was a list of all their schedules. Claire's eyes widened," do you know all our schedules?"

Allison grinned, "what good is being a basket case if you don't get useful information from the files?" That made Claire laugh, which made her feel a million times better. What didn't was Stephanie Rodgers, who up until recently had been her best friend, walking towards her determinedly, "Claire where have you been! You have missed so much drama, come on, everyone is waiting for you."

Claire started to move with her, and then stopped dead, "who is everyone?"

Steph rolled her eyes, "oh you know, Laura, Jenn, the girls, uhm… god you know, the boys."

Claire moved back, running into Alison and Andy, and very quietly she asked, "what boys?

"Jake, Tommy, George, you know the same guys who are always around. What's the problem Claire? You don't answer the phone all weekend. Now you are acting like a spaz. Are you coming?"

Claire shook her head and grabbed Ali's hand. "No Steph, I'm not."

Steph grabbed Claire's hand and started pull her towards their crowd. "Claire, what is your problem? You just need to hang out with the normal people you've been with since like grade school. Did you have like some kind of I don't know like some kind meltdown over the weekend." Claire jerked her hand away from Steph. "What do you know about what happened last Friday?" She squeezed Allison's hand and tried not to completely melt down.

Steph put one hand on her hip and rolled her eyes again, "If I have to talk in front of these, I don't know degenerates, I guess I should be sorry Clark, but I'm not." She pulled out a cigarette and lit it. "As I understand it, that freak Bender tried to rape a teacher and Tommy stopped him."

Claire screamed, "You stupid cow! You dumb bitch, how could you believe anything that cocksucker said?" As she got angry, she looked down at the ring, then back at Andy and Alli silently asking them to back her up. Both nodded.

Claire stalked up the steps to the school to the popular crowd who were known as her friends. "Want to know what really happened on Friday? These two asshole ran off like little girls, she pointed to two of the jocks and this one, she pointed at Strickler was beating and molesting the best English teacher Shermer has seen in ages. Guess what the following night his father tried the same thing to me. Guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Where is your father Tommy? He make bail this time?"

Claire took a deep breath and moved away from them, "I don't want any of you vapid mother fuckers to speak to me, look at me, or even think about me. I know who my friends are." She walked over and took Allison's hand, who noticed Claire was shaking like a leaf. Allison looked at Andy who moved away from her and took Claire's hand as well. The three of them who were joined by Brian, who had watched the whole thing, on the steps, walked into school with their heads held high.

Clair and Allison made a beeline for the restroom where Claire had the meltdown she's been trying to avoid all morning.


	20. Chapter 20

Not only was there a full meltdown, but once in the bathroom Claire started to sob hysterically; she then went into another panic attack. Allison shook her, "Claire stop it. You have to breathe, you need to calm down. Come on, breathe in….breathe out." After a few minutes Claire's breathing returned to normal.

The bell for homeroom rang and neither of them paid it any attention. Allison looked carefully at Claire, she had cried off most of the make-up hiding the black eye. "When did this start? The panic attacks I mean."

Claire thought about it, "this morning, sometime after I left the hospital. In my Dad's car was the first time… no uhm, right after the… attack… my Dad was trying to calm me down and I felt like I couldn't breathe… it went away after I found John." Allison nodded. "Are you sure you are ready for this? It has only been what 48 hours since you were pretty brutalized, you are allowed recovery time."

Claire shook her head, "I felt like I was leaving you guys to deal on your own…though it seems like you and Andy are doing pretty good." That made her smile. Allison returned it with a smile of her own, "Yeah, he's been pretty spectacular. He doesn't know many of the football players, but I still can't believe Strickler isn't even suspended."

Claire stood up, a little shaky, kind of like a newborn calf, but she did it. "Let's try this again. I can only ruin my reputation more today, and it feels like just what I want to do." Claire looked in the mirror and repaired what damage she could, though the black eye was pretty obvious now. She turned to Allison, do I look ok? Allison smiled and nodded. Claire took one more deep breath, kissed the emerald on her hand and silently whispered 'I love you John'. "Okay, Let's go."

As they exited the bathroom, they ran square into Vice Principal Vernon. "You ladies are late. What were you doing in there? Gossiping? Smoking? Vandalizing school property?"

Claire sighed tiredly and looked up at Vernon, who only then noticed the black eye, "I was having a meltdown and Allison was helping me through it. Do you want the doctor's note that says I am not even supposed to be in school yet? I thought it was important to get a good education. Do you have a problem with that, Mr. Vernon?" She spat his name like it was a curse word.

Vernon moved out of their way, with the way he had spouted off about Bender to those cops he thought perhaps shutting up was his best policy. Allison walked Claire to her class, hugged her and walked towards her class. Claire opened the door and everyone got quiet. She went to the teacher and handed her the doctor's note, then went to her regular seat.

That seat happened to be in the midst of the people she had just effectively told off. She started to sink into her seat a little, and gasped quietly at the pain it caused. She sat up straight, and she looked down to find a note written in Steph's purple bubbled handwriting. She tried ignoring the note, but really her curiosity got the better of her so she quietly and smoothly opened up the noted, while trying to pay attention to this dreadful history lesson.

_Claire, _

_we (the girls and I) don't know what your malfunction is, but we are like willing to overlook your morning weirdness if you simply talk to us. We've been friends forever. Where did that terrible black eye come from? We have our suspicions, but please just talk to use after class and we can straighten things out. By the way, what's with the jeans? Bumming it today? No nail polish either, you must have had a terrible weekend._

_Kiss kiss, Steph, Jenn, and Julie_

Claire desperately wanted the note to be real, she wanted her friends to be real people; maybe she was being too hard on them. She'd try talking to them after class.

Class ended, and before she even gathered her things and stood up her "girls" were surrounding her, "come one, lets head to the ladies and see what we can do to cover that terrible eye." As she walked out of class basically surrounded, she searched for Alli, but didn't see her so Claire just let her friends pull her along. She did however miss Brian standing there, wondering if they were all over reacting, she seemed fine, but well, he thought maybe he better wait just a little longer.

Jenn pulled out a bunch of makeup and told Claire to jump up on the counter. She went to try jumping up, but as she put pressure on her arms to pull herself up her back spasmed, she gasped in pain. "Really Claire a little dramatic, I just want to fix your makeup," Jenn commented.

Claire got a "fuck off" out of her mouth through her clenched teeth. Tears came to her eyes and for the first time she was grateful her father filled her prescriptions disregarding her commentary. She put her purse on the counter and dug through to find the prescription bottle and a bottle of water. Finding both, she read the label and took two of the pills and washed them down with water.

"Jesus Claire, are you alright?" This from, Lauren, the only one of her friends who didn't sign the little note in class. It made Claire think better of her. Claire shook her head, "not really, but I'm working on it."

Steph came into the bathroom. "Good, I told Jenn to get you in here. I get you had some kind of trauma this weekend, but don't take it out on us, ok? Fuck Claire, Bender really did work you over didn't he?" Steph grabbed her face and turned it so she could see the injured eye more carefully.

Claire slapped Steph's hand away from her face. "What did you just say?"

Steph reached for her again, "Let's handle this damage then we'll talk, ok?"

"Fuck you. Repeat what you just said to me and do not lay a finger on me until you do." Claire said very stiffly.

Steph sighed, "I only commented that Bender must have really worked you over, Tommy told us all what happened, ok. There's nothing to be ashamed of, he's a criminal."

Without any forethought Claire slapped her in the mouth. "Don't you ever touch me again, and you aren't worthy to speak John Bender's name if you can listen to the shit Tommy fucking Strickler spews."

Claire tried to leave the bathroom but was pulled back and slammed into the counter, she screamed in pain and slid down to her knees.

Steph was holding her face, "What is your malfunction Standish? Suddenly you are hanging around with nobodies, then you hit me, and tell me that Tommy, My Boyfriend I might add, is a liar? Listen you little bitch I can make life miserable for you, and don't believe we are friends anymore."

Claire muttered, "Thank god for small favors"

Steph turned, "What?"

Claire pulled herself up, still in a great deal of pain. "I said, Thank God for small favors or are you deaf as well as stupid?" Stephanie Rodgers pulled back and punched Claire with all her strength in the eye which hadn't been black before, Claire's head hit the wall with a sickening thud, and blood started pouring out of her nose. Steph then hauled off and kicked her in the stomach. "That was for hitting me. Girls this one," pointing at Claire, "Is officially a nobody, we are going to do just what she requested. Spread the news, Claire Standish is nothing but a two bit lying whore." With that she walked out of the room, her head held high even though her cheek was turning black and blue from Claire's smack. She didn't realize that her precious diamond ring had Claire's blood on it. Claire made one attempt to get up and passed out.

Brian was on his way to class when he saw all the popular girls walk out of the bathroom, he thought he heard them say Claire's name, but he didn't see her anywhere. Allison had pulled him aside and asked him to watch for her since she was having a really hard day.

He thought about it for a minute and then walked over and pushed the door to the girls bathroom open just a little, just enough that he saw Claire lying in a growing pool of blood that was smeared down the wall. "HELP!" Brian screamed at the top of his lungs holding the door open, "HELP SOMEONE CALL 911!"

Of course every student in the area came to see what was going on, but Brian has the presence of mind to close the door and block it till a teacher or someone in charge came along. Fortunately, or not so fortunately it was Mr. Vernon jogging towards him. The students separated in front of Vernon, and only then did Brian open the bathroom door. "Jesus Christ why can't any day be quiet. You, there, he grabbed a student, run to the office have the secretary call 911 and bring the nurse back with you NOW." He shut the bathroom door and allowed Brian to continue guarding it. The bell rang, "the rest of you have someplace to be, I suggest you get there before I start handing out detentions!" The students quickly moved on afraid Vernon would be true to his word.

Richard Vernon slipped inside the bathroom, and asked Brian to wait for the nurse and paramedics. He dropped to his knees, took off his jacket, and put it against the back of Claire's head, where the worst of the bleeding seemed to be coming from, he was afraid to move her, but he did notice a fairly large cut by her eye, which was now looking like she might have another bruise, and maybe a broken nose. Moments later Claire opened her eye, for the one recently hit was swelling very quickly, "Mr. Vernon?" she asked then started coughing, and whimpering. "Look honey, what can I do to help?"

Claire tried to sit up, but Vernon stopped her, "Claire, we don't know how bad you are hurt."

Claire shook her head, "My back hurts to lay here, and I can't breathe. You asked what you could do to help? Suspend the bitch who did this," Claire coughed again, and started to gag, Vernon grabbed a bunch of paper towels and handed them to her.. she spit out a lot of blood which worried him.

"Ok, I am sure that will happen. Who did this?"

Claire coughed and whimpered, again. "Stephanie Rodgers, and if you find her quick enough I'll be there's proof she hit me on that stupid ring she wears." Claire asked him to wet a paper towel, which she then held to her face. Just as she couldn't stop from crying any longer the school nurse and two paramedics walked in the door. Vernon sighed and rubbed his head, it looked like a blood bath had happened. As the paramedics started working with Claire, he stepped out of the room to notice a very anxious Brian Johnson waiting.

"Johnson, can you find Carl for me? Send him down here, and then go to the office and get the principal down here for me, I really don't feel I can leave." Vernon leaned against the wall and wondered again what was happening to these kids.

After just a few minutes the principal was running down the hall towards Vernon and Carl was approaching from the other direction. Vernon gave the principal a rundown of what was happening. He opened the door to show him the paramedics lifting Claire up to her feet slowly. Principal Anderson said, "I am so sorry this happened to you Ms. Standish; Mr. Vernon said Stephanie Rodgers did this to you? Unprovoked?"

"It wasn't exactly unprovoked, I smacked her for lying about what happened last Friday." As Claire said this, Officer Mike Talmand poked his head in, "don't want to intrude Principal Anderson, but well I was in the area and followed the paramedics."

The principal shook his head, "It's no problem Mike, good thing you are here. According to Miss Standish there is, or should be proof, the girl who is presently sitting in my office, did this to her. You said something about a ring?" The principal asked.

Claire nodded, "She wears what she calls a diamond ring on her left middle finger. I'm pretty sure it's as fake as her breasts and nose job are, but whatever. From the amount of blood that was coming down my face, I can bet there is some of my DNA in the prongs of the ring." She suddenly felt a little woozy, "I don't..don't feel so good." Claire felt terribly embarrassed as she vomited which caused her head to start throbbing which in turn caused her to whimper.

The paramedic said, "all of this is great, but I need to get this girl to the hospital. I am pretty sure she has a concussion and has lost a lot of blood. Has someone called her parents?'

When the principal poked his head out of the bathroom door only Carl the head janitor was there. "I think Vernon went to call her folks or something, and I sent Brian off to class sir." Anderson nodded his thanks.

"Yes sir, someone has gone to contact her parents. Is there anything I can do?"

"Get out of our way?" was the only response the paramedic gave. They put Claire on the bed, and set it up just enough so she could breathe through here apparently broken nose. Mike squeezed her hand, "take care of yourself girl, I don't want to have to answer to that boy of yours, or your old man for that matter." She smiled slightly. "check that bitches ring and we'll call it even." Her statement caused him to chuckle a little. "Mind if I follow you to your office sir?"

Principal Anderson shook his head, "of course not. I cannot believe the problems my students are causing. I knew I should have suspended that little prick Strickler." Mike did a double take at him, "He's not suspended?"

There was a lot of hell from his old man, and I gave in when I shouldn't have. He started dating a girl who is, sad that I can say this but, the biggest bitch at Shermer. The two of them have been telling stories about John Bender attacking a teacher all week. A few kids are trying to put the story straight; Miss Standish did it in a…particularly spectacular way this morning on the steps of the school. Which I believe is what caused some of the trouble." The two men walked into the office and the Principal called Stephanie into his office, "Stephanie, this is officer Talmand. Can you please explain what happened in the ladies room?" Stephanie called Claire every kind of crazy and showed the bruise on her cheek, explaining that the only reason she hit her was because she was going nuts.

Mike watched the girl weave a truly spectacular story which didn't fit the evidence in the ladies room at all. He also noticed that there was indeed blood on her ring. Mike spoke up at this point, having seen a team of forensic agents head towards the scene of the crime, there was enough blood that it had to be called a crime as far as he could tell, "Miss, Rodgers, was it? I need to take a closer look at that ring on your right hand."

"Why? That bitch attacked me!" Stephanie said in a suddenly very defensive tone.

Gently, and as patiently as possible, Mike said, "I understand that, but I still need to see the ring a little closer, please?" He gave the principal a look asking for his help.

"Miss Rodgers, allow the officer to see the ring, no harm will come to it."

With an exaggerated huff she said, "Fine, but it's very important to me, and I want it back immediately."

Another officer poked his head in the room and said to Mike, "We've got all the info we need from the scene." He looked at the principal and said you can have someone clean it now."

Stephanie was holding the ring with a look on her face portraying the fact that she felt the whole issue was simply an inconvenience. Mike took the ring with a handkerchief; looked closely at stone which did indeed have blood and probably skin on it. He handed it to the tech who then placed it in a bag, sealed it, and left the room and the school.

Stephanie shrieked, "What the fuck! Excuse me, where is my ring going? I want it back now!"

Mike looked at the shrieking girl, "I'm sorry miss, there was blood on your ring, and we need to see where it came from. Are you intending to press charges against Miss Standish for attacking you?"

"Will that get my ring back?"

Mike shook his head, you'll get the ring back as soon as the forensic team is finished with it. She looked pissed, "If there is one single thing wrong with that ring I will sue your whole god damn police department." With that she stalked out of the room.

Mike looked at Principal Anderson and said, "I guess she's not pressing charges?"

The principal laughed out loud at that. "Apparently not, not that she looks like she got more than a smack, and she probably deserved it." He sighed, "I will be suspending both her and the Strickler boy – apparently they are continuing to cause issues." Mike tilted his head, "why wasn't he suspended in the first place? He assaulted a teacher."

The principal put his head in his hands, "His old man has a lot of money and was threatening to take away the funding he offered for the new athletic grounds. The board called it alleged until formal charges were brought against him."

"Well I believe that will be happening today, among other charges which might be brought up by, I don't know the Standishes? I'd think about that if I were you." Mike turned and walked out of the office, got into his car and headed to the hospital. He hoped like hell that Bender had been discharged or there was going to be some serious hell to pay.


	21. Chapter 21

At about eight that morning, just as John and Sarah were awake, since the hospital was a terrible place to sleep and the nurses just changed shifts so they were poked and prodded; Robert Standish came into the room.

"Morning Miss Dearing" He put a cup of coffee on her table, you like Latte's right? "she nodded and grabbed the drink quickly. Robert then walked over to John and set a McDonalds bag on his table, "I hear you've been complaining about the food, I can't much vouch for this, but I thought you might like it."

John tore into the bag which contained an orange juice, a sausage mcmuffin, and a hash brown. "you are like a god Mr. Standish" John started wolfing down the food immediately.

Robert took a seat next to John's bed and drank his coffee, while trying to surreptitiously watch the boy. "Claire asked me to check in on you, and that there was something you wanted to talk to me about." Robert was amazed, the boy had already finished the food and was drinking the orange juice, but John nodded.

John reached into the envelope containing the letter and pulled out the check, "I need to know what to do with this." He handed Mr. Standish the check.

His eyes widen at the check and the amount, "First, please call me Rob or Robert, I'm trying not to be so… stodgy, I guess. Are you asking if I think you should invest this?"

John shrugged. "I really have no idea, that's why I am asking, Sir."

"How about I start a bank account for you first, put a portion in the account and the rest we look at either investing and starting a portfolio for you, cause this is a lot of money, or well there are a number of options. None of which I think you want to really hear about since I don't think I can explain very clearly without sounding like an investment banker."

"I have a bank account sir, uh, Rob…and uh, I think it's at the same bank you work for. Can part of it just be deposited into that?" John said quietly, "I started it cause I couldn't really ever bring money home, and I sometimes found ways to make money and stuff.."

"Really, I probably don't need to know any more son. But yes, if you'll endorse the back, I'll deposit it for you. Do you want a couple of hundred out for you?" John's eyes widened, "how about maybe a hundred, that'll keep me for like a month."

John signed the back of the check and shook hands with Robert Standish. "I'd hang around, but I have to get to work. I'll talk with you later, and I'll bring the money by this evening?"

Sarah said, "they are supposed to make some decisions about releasing us today."

Robert nodded, "If that happens, I'll drop the money off at your house this evening, ok John?"

John was startled for a moment, his house, it wasn't the shithole his folks fucked up any more, it was a decent place with Sarah, that was gonna take some getting used to. "Uh, sure – that'd be great."

He walked out, and John turned to Sarah. "I almost told him not to… thinking it was my old place. Do, uh, do you think we can go there so I can get my stuff?"

Sarah nodded, "of course honey." She smiled at him.

The doctors had been in and out of the room a dozen times. Some arguing for releasing him, some against it and all of them were giving him a headache. "Hey docs, could you argue elsewhere, you are starting to give me a headache." This made Sarah laugh, "while you are at it, any info on me?"

"Well, Miss Dearing, I will see if I can find your doctor. This was said by one of the doctors arguing for releasing John." He walked out of the room.

John said, "I think I am gonna take a walk, down to the arboretum," he looked at Sarah, "want to join me?"

As John was walking and Sarah was practicing with her crutches, they passed the ER, and they both heard the name 'Claire Standish'. This caused an immediate turn towards the emergency room rather than the arboretum.

John could hear Claire, though she sounded kind of strange, "Yes, I know, you have to wait for one of my parents, I get it. Can you leave me be till one of them gets here? Or better yet, get me something to get rid of this killer headache?" She looked down at her new ring, and as she had done when she felt out of sorts all day, she kissed it and whispered, "I love you John Bender."

John had followed the sound of her voice and saw the little ritual. "He put his hand on her arm and whispered "I love you too princess," into her ear. She smiled and turned towards him, burying her face in his chest. She pulled away quickly, "damn, I'm sorry John I just got blood all over your shirt."

John was working very hard to control the rage simmering just below the surface, but Claire could see it in his eyes. She put her hand on his chest, "it was a fight at school, love. If you sit down with me I can tell you all about it." He put his hand on the side of her face, "I wouldn't be anywhere else." Bender pulled up a chair, and tried very hard not to break it. "Babe, uhm, never mind."

"John, what is it? Do you need to have a smoke so you don't kill anyone?" Claire said without any inflection that she was upset by it. "I do know you John Bender, and well I think, or I like to think you kind of, like, consider me yours….so someone hurting me… kind of, well, like makes you want to hurt them. Or at least that's kind of how I felt."

He spun around and looked at her, one black eye, the other rapidly blackening, her hair matted down with what looked like blood, and probably a broken nose, yeah he wanted to kill someone, or at least hurt them very badly…but how did she know. He realized he was staring at her.

She smiled with half her mouth, "so am I right?"

He kissed her cheek very gently, "yeah princess, it seems like you got my number. I'll wait on the smoke cause there are bound to throw me out of here soon, and I want to know who I need to be pissed at.'

This caused her to laugh, and choke a little, he helped her sit up and gave her a tissue. She spit some blood into it, and moaned softly as he gently reclined her on the bed again. It scared the shit out of him and made him even more determined not to leave her side until he was forced to. "So who do I get to kill" He smirked.

She reached out and touched his face, "no murder John, I don't do conjugal visits," This caused him to smirk and raise an eyebrow, but if you want to be pissed at someone look no further than Tommy Strickler's new girlfriend, the self proclaimed bitch of Shermer high, Stephanie Rodgers."

"I thought she was your best friend or something." John asked a little confused, none of his friends would do this to him, well they might, but only if money or drugs or something were involved.

"Was is the key word there, but you're not gonna get the whole story if you keep interrupting me." That cause him to nod and make a motion like he was zipping his mouth shut, Claire laughed a little and gratefully didn't choke this time.

"Ok well it started when I had a panic attack in my Dad's car, before even getting out." Bender opened his mouth to say something and Claire put a finger over it to stop him. "Allison was suddenly there helping me, which she is amazing at by the way. So over the protests of pretty much everyone, I got out of the car, and Steph, in her stupid spiked heels comes marching down and tries to pull me away from Andy and Allison. She said I missed all kinds of drama and everyone wanted to make sure I was ok or something. Well I was pretty sure I saw Tom Strickler up there. And before you argue no he apparently didn't get suspended. Anyway, I told her I wasn't going up there… so she tells me she heard about what happened and that it was you who'd hurt Miss Dearing. So I kind of blew up and told the whole school what happened and that it was Strickler who'd gotten his black eye from you cause I wouldn't let you kill him for what he did to Miss Dearing. I also called them.. " She smiled, apparently quite proud of what she was about to say, "I said they were vapid mother fuckers and they shouldn't even think about me." She beamed a little at that.

"I wasn't nearly as brave as I was showing, cause as soon as Alli, Andy, and Brian got me inside I made a beeline for the ladies and puked, then had another panic attack. Of course Alli was right there to help me. God knows what I would have don't without her today. Then we had a little run in with Vernon, and I told him exactly what was happening, he looked kind of scared of me, I wish you could have been there, you would have loved it." John had taken her hand and was playing with her fingers while he listened, he looked up and smiled, then nodded for her to continue. "Well I get to first period and like my seat is totally surrounded by them, you know? Anyway, a note gets thrown to me that the girls just want to talk and make sure I'm ok. I was stupid to believe them, but they kind of dragged me along to the bathroom up on the second floor, the one with the big counter and mirror."

John chuckled a little, "I don't make the ladies rooms at school part of my personal knowledge Cherry, but if you help I'll start."

She squeezed his hand, but didn't remove it from his, "Pig" she said playfully. "So Steph walks in, and starts her whole I know you had a rough weekend crap, and tells me to hop up on the counter. Normally, not a problem right? Well, cause my back is all bruised and stuff, I couldn't. It didn't matter, cause Steph grabbed my face to look at my eye, and said that Tommy told her you hit me. And well, I kind of smacked the hell out of her, told her she wasn't worthy enough to speak your name and started to walk out.. you know going for a dramatic exit and everything… but she grabbed my arm. Stupid tennis playing bitch, but she swung me around against the counter really hard which hurt really bad… I moved over to the wall so at least my back wasn't against that stupid counter and stuff… and she halls off and punches me…I think my head hit the tile wall pretty hard, and I know it was that stupid fake ring she wears that cut me…but I think, and it gets kind of fuzzy here.. but I slid down the wall, and then the bitch kicked me in the stomach. I don't remember anything after that till I see Vernon kneeling, and I'm not kidding here, kneeling next to me looking sick." So that's how I ended up here and you can talk again, I think I'm all out of breath.

John stood up and kissed her very gently but she wrapped her arms around his neck so he couldn't pull back. He braced his hands on either side of her so he wouldn't crush her, but he was certainly going to enjoy the kiss. From behind them, someone cleared their throat, and John jumped back. "No need to be jumpy Bender, I just didn't really appreciate watching the uh, tonsil hockey." Officer Mike Talmand was standing there. I also thought it was better for me to warn you that your dad is here Claire, filling out paper work and raising seven kinds of hell."

Mike suddenly looked kind of bashful, "Claire, uhm, I've been sitting right over there" he pointed to a chair not far from the bed, "since you started your story. Can I use this as your statement so you don't have to go over it again?"

Claire shrugged, "I don't care, it'll be nice only having to repeat it six or seven times." She leaned into John who had taken a seat on her bed. He rubbed her back a little, "I'm gonna take the offer of that smoke up now babe, I might even smoke a whole pack since you keep telling me I can't kill these….what was it…. vapid motherfuckers." He leaned down and kissed her temple. "I think your Dad's gonna be in here any…" Before he could finish his sentence Robert Standish rushed into the room and pulled Claire away from John and into a hug so tight she whimpered. "Oh god Angel, I am so sorry, I forgot about your back. Oh my baby girl, are you in much pain?" He laid her back gently on the bed. John quietly said, "Mr. Standish," Robert Standish looked at him, "I told you to call me Rob didn't I?"

John sighed a little, "feels weird ok? I'll get it eventually. So Rob, I'm gonna go smoke, but I'll be around if you or she needs anything, k?" John felt like he'd somehow transformed into a different person in just a few days. Did he like it? Fuck he needed that cigarette. He winked at Claire and walked straight out the front door, lighting his cigarette before the door was shut behind him. "Mind if I bum one of those?" Asked Mike from behind him. John held out the pack and dropped to a squat holding his head.

"I can't fucking believe those motherfuckers…. Did you ever feel like you wanted to tear down an entire world? I want to hurt those bastards for laying a finger on her. Not just hurt them fucking destroy them. Christ, like I should be telling this to a cop." John wanted to punch something so bad, but his hand was throbbing in the cast as it was, and he wasn't stupid.


	22. Chapter 22

Mike looked over at John Bender; the boy was practically humming with rage. "I think I know what you mean." Mike walked over to the bench near were John was squatting. "You realize there is more to me than just being a cop."

John's head jerked up, "You're fuckin kidding me? You don't all sleep in your cars or at your desks? Of course I fucking know that." John stood up from his squat, with an ease Mike envied till he looked at John's eyes and realized the appearance ease cost him something too. John lit another cigarette and paced for a minute, during which Mike noticed he had a slight limp, then while finishing one cigarette and lighting another with the end of the first he plopped down on the bench next to Mike.

"Distract me or I'm likely to steal a car and run someone over."

Mike chuckled, but mostly because he couldn't tell if Bender was serious or not. "I have two kids – both in high school at Shermer hell." John look over at him, a bit surprised, though Mike wasn't sure if it was the nickname of the school or the notion of kids. "It's been called that for a long time now, high school has always sucked; anyway, that wasn't my point – I was just tryin to crack a joke." John nodded, pitched his cigarette and leaned back.

"Ok, your point? Remember, you are supposed to be distracting me." John smirked a little, but Mike saw the rage right below the surface. "and I don't think your kids would hang out with my crowd."

Mike coughed and laughed at the same time, "If Wendy, my wife, even caught wind of the fact that Lisa had ever lit a cigarette the poor girl would catch seven kinds of hell. She's my oldest, a sixteen year old beauty, but I'm kinda biased. She started smoking a year or so back after a bad breakup with some douche bag I never liked anyway. But, my point is that while you are correct, my kids would get my boot up their ass if I found out they cut class to smoke pot behind the bleachers."

Once again, John's eyes widened and he looked spooked. Mike smiled with definite glee. "Calm yourself son, it's not like I'm gonna pat you down. I have a point here, so bear with me and quit getting spooked cause by the end of my little story here you'll know why I know that. Besides knowing that it was the best place to smoke when I went there, I mean." That final statement calmed John just a bit.

Anyway, Lisa started smoking, and one day after she came clean to me, I may be a cop, but I never let it be said I am a hypocrite. Lemme bum another." John handed him a cigarette and lit a fourth for himself, "anyway I'm gonna try and get this right cause I am pretty sure no one on earth is as cheesy as a teenage girl, but she comes home to tell me about her new crush. A guy 'so totally out of her league cause he's just that dreamy." Damn, I think I threw up a little just repeating that… You know, I tried to tell her she was beautiful and no guy was out of her league, father stuff to a daughter. Anyway, I tried to find out where she met this dreamboat of hers… she tells me she'd gotten into a what did she say… "Totally massive" fight with her friends so she couldn't sit with them in the parking lot, she'd wandered to a fairly isolated part of the field and was being harassed by some…. Uh… jack-off wastoids… when" and Mike used the finger quotes for this part, he even tried to mock Lisa's voice, "THE JOHN BENDER" came to her rescue, scared off the wastoids, and told her she belonged in a safer place unless she liked being harassed." Mike had a huge smirk on his face, while John looked a little green. "I'll be honest I was almost, and I do mean almost, glad she got a boyfriend so she stopped mooning over you. Course the fact that her boyfriend is called Spaz doesn't give me much hope, I haven't had the chance to meet him yet." He glanced over with his eyes.

John swallowed, "Had no idea she was a cops daughter, good thing I was feeling like a good Samaritan. She was being harassed by wastoids, bunch of no good jocks who like to smoke pot to piss off their coach and they were pretty wasted. I fuckin hate seeing jocks on the field during the day; It, like, ruins my day or something. Besides she a cute little brunette, right? They woulda just fucked with her and made her cry or some shit. Spaz? Huh, You might not want to know this, but he, does hang out with my crowd, he don't smoke, but thinks classes are a waste of time. Dude's a fuckin electrical genius, but hates pretty much everything to do with school except shop, and as of last week he was mooning over a new girl. Small world. I can tell you he's an alright guy." Mike finished the cigarette.

"Not sure if I should thank you for the endorsement, but thanks for letting me know whether or not I need to worry for her safety. However, I'm not done; see that was last year."

"Fuck me, I did something else?" Mike grinned and nodded. "You should be grateful to these little insights; it was what made me automatically believe you when you explained what happened that Friday."

"You automatically believed me?"

Mike nodded again, "see I have pretty fair evidence that this guy name of John Bender is a decent guy, he just doesn't want to ruin his reputation as a bad ass." This made John laugh so hard he choked, and had to wrap his arms around his ribs.

"Don't hurt yourself, now, do you want the rest of the, uh, incriminating evidence?" John nodded but reached for his wallet, finding it empty he put it back. "Let me get myself a coffee, and I'll check to see where things are at with Claire for you, alright? Want a pop or something? My treat, you'll find out why when I get back." John chuckled but said sure and leaned back and put his arm on the back of the bench.

After that little story about his daughter he was a little afraid of what else this dude knew, he really did try to keep his good deeds a secret. Mike was back with a cup of coffee, and a can of pop before John even got truly pissed off again about what had happened to Claire, though he did want to know when he could go see her. "There's a doctor with her and so I didn't get much info, sorry. Want I should keep distracting you?"

John said, "I do need the rest of that incriminating evidence, and I really am an asshole you know."

Mike shook his head, "you're mouthy, and kind of obnoxious, but Joe Bender was an asshole, you…. You are kind of a classic rebel without a cause I guess." John filed that piece of info away to think about later. "I have a son who is a freshman there this year. He's not really," Mike sighed, "Alex has some difficulties socially – he's what the doctors call a high functioning autistic, but he's a whiz at math and some of the sciences. He's got a lot of peculiar habits and tics I guess you'd call them. I nearly tore the school down when he came home crying cause some jock jerked him around in the bathroom or something. The kid had bruises on his arms from where this guy was grabbing him. Alex didn't know, or couldn't remember his name, but it kept happening for a while. I went down to the school to raise hell, I mean hell I should be able to protect my own kid, right? Since Alex wouldn't give me a name there wasn't anything I could do. Anyway, this jock, or another one, hell they all look the same after awhile, but Alex was walking across the parking lot to meet his sister and this guy grabbed him, knocked him down and he spilled everything out of his backpack. That's one of his… things… everything has to be in a special order or he kind of freaks out. I guess a few of the asshole's buddies came along to point and laugh at my boy who has ripped jeans and scrapped knees from being knocked to the ground, and well Alex was probably pretty hysterical about the backpack when a long haired boy with a red bandana on his foot scared the mean boys off." Mike said that quietly, as though he were remembering.

John remembered thinking the kid was kind of a spaz but the jocks were being dicks and pissing off jocks always makes for a good day.

Mike started talking again, "I know my boy isn't right, but well, he told me you sort of picked him up and dusted him off and hauled him to the math club. He joined and it really improved his year there. As for knowing it's you, well the long hair and bandanna on the boot sort of tipped me off since I had to listen to Lisa describe you till I wanted to vomit."

John didn't know what to say. "I have also heard rumors from a variety of sources that you have a tendency to help out the…underdog… I guess you could say. I've heard stories of backpacks retrieved from places handicapped kids can't get them from, nor could they have gotten them to…stuff like that. Now I won't go and ruin your reputation as an asshole, but I think you might just want it ruined a little. Hell Rob Standish seems to have taken a liking to you, and since you are sweet on his daughter, I think you ought to keep him on your good side."

John scratched his neck and lit another cigarette, "I guess, but shit, I am not gonna go around announcing that I think it's petty and stupid to pick on people who can't help themselves. I've certainly done my share of shaking down nerds, but it got old… and I decided I didn't want to be my old man. But it works to have people scared of me, and I ain't gonna change it now, at least not there. I am too close to out of that place to fuck up a good deal when I've got one, ya know?" John leaned forward a little clenching his one fist. "I need to find Sarah, she's got my pain killers and my hand is about to fuckin explode I think."

John walked into the hospital looking for Sarah Dearing; he found her sitting with Mr. Standish, no it was supposed to be Rob or Robert or some shit… what exactly had happened to the life he had like 2 weeks ago. God he could use a nice bowl, maybe a never ending bong, or hell just a couple of joints. As he walked towards them he couldn't help notice they were talking, and stood back to hear what they were saying.

"I am nearly certain my bank manager nearly had coronary when I deposited John's check. He almost made me take a three day wait. Something about not knowing if the check was good. I have to tell you Sarah apparently that boy is rubbing off on me as well as Claire because I told him in no uncertain terms that I guaranteed the check was good and the boy had just lost his parents he didn't need 'shit from needle dick pencil pushers'. I have no idea where the words even came from." The two of them were laughing. John thought it was a good sign, he thought better of Rob Standish, damn apparently the man had a pair on him.

"Claire is going to be a bit longer, they had to cut most of her hair away from the scalp wound to stitch it up and she threw me out in no uncertain terms. Can I talk to you about something, private and well kind of hell I don't know… I think I want to get a divorce. I came rushing down here, I stopped to call my wife and her response was she felt no need to rush to any place," let alone a hospital just because her daughter had the poor manners to get into a fight of all things" he mocked the voice of what John assumed was Claire's mom. I mean divorce has been a bone of contention for years and until very recently Claire was used as a weapon. I see now how I did it as well as she did – but I am trying to be a better person. I think Claire see it. I think the gods may strike me down, but I like her boy. John is certainly rough around the edges and well, he seems to have gotten the short end of the stick for too long, but he's a good young man."

Sarah smiled. "I like him too. I can give you some info on divorce even a few good lawyers in the city, not that you'll need my help, but let's leave it for today and focus on Claire, and getting her and John settled. As much as its' probably hard for them to swallow they are still kids, and well, I would like to let them have it for a while, even if its new for john and perhaps temporary for Claire. What do you say Rob?"

"I say that you are a smart as well as beautiful woman Sarah, and you have a heart of gold."

Sarah laughed, "Shut up, you old charmer." John decided maybe he could approach now.

Please please please review.


	23. Chapter 23

This is a fairly long chapter - and I promise the up coming chapters get them all back to the rigors of school and their various nemeses. Sorry it's been a few days since I updated, but I have internet issues at home. I will update as I can though it may not be as regular. Thank you all for sticking with me, and I hope you like this chapter even though it's not quite as excitement filled as others have been or upcoming ones will be. Please please please review... I am in despair over my lack of ability to post as regularly as I have..

"I'd say I hate to interrupt, but I'd be lying. Sarah, can I have any of those painkillers yet because my hand is killing me."

She dug into the bag sitting next to her; she'd finished the paper work for their release. John was coming home with her, and both were to take it easy. She was cleared for going back to work on Thursday, same day as John was cleared to go back to school. She wasn't sure whether or not she'd be able to convince him to attend unless it was to kill the girls who'd hurt Claire. She handed him the bottle of pills. "I figured you can read the instructions as well as I can, so you can just keep them with you if you want."

He nodded, and turned to Robert Standish, "have you heard anything about Claire?" As he asked a doctor approached, "Mr. Standish?"

Robert stood up, "That's me, how's my girl?"

The doctor cleared his throat. "She has a pretty good concussion and a nasty scalp wound, we cleaned and put 8 stitches in her scalp – they should dissolve on their own so she won't have to come back for their removal. Her nose was broken, but it's been reset, and the cut on the side of her eye required 2 stitches as well. She can be released shortly so long as for the next 24 hour someone wakes her every 2 hours to make sure everything is ok." Robert nodded. "My wife and I can certainly handle that."

Out of the corner of his eye he saw John moving in circles, almost pacing, but not quite. "John, why don't you go keep her company, she's probably mourning her hair about now. I'm pretty sure she's just over there," he pointed to the curtained area he'd come from. Before he even finished talking John was walking pretty rapidly towards the room. Robert looked over at Sarah and they both chuckled, "I think that boy just might be in love with my daughter; just how strange is it that I am ok with it, considering a week ago I thought of him as completely unworthy of her?"

Sarah arched an eyebrow at him, "I'd say you've gotten smarter over the last week. I am pretty sure John is worthy of a whole hell of a lot more than anyone has ever given him credit for." Sarah looked at her crutches with disdain. "Fuck, I can't drive – I wonder if John has a license."

"I can have our car service take you home, that's really not a problem." Robert said sitting down to give the kids a little time. He wanted to see Claire to make sure she was really alright, but he knew the two of them felt more comfortable being together without other eyes watching' though he wasn't going to give them long.

Sarah shook her head, "It's not just getting home Robert. I need to go grocery shopping, and get to and from school, I need to get John back to his old house to get his things – something I am very much not looking forward to, but it needs done. He has nothing but the clothes on his back.'

Robert thought for a few minutes, "If you can wait to do some of that till tomorrow, I would be happy to help you out. I don't really trust my wife to check on Claire tonight."

The moment Rob Standish mentioned John going into see Claire he moved as quickly as he could to get to her. He slid the glass door open, and she was curled up on her side, and sounded like she was crying. "Miss me Princess?" He sat down on the bed next to her, and she instantly moved to wrap her arms around his middle. "I am hideous, they practically shaved my head and I have two black eyes; I can't even open one of them."

John looked at the back of her head, where they had indeed cut enough hair to put the stitches in. "First of all, nothing they could do would make you hideous. Second, the swelling in your eye will go down so long as you keep something cool on it, and you know enough about make up to fix that up. Finally, I think you are beautiful, so what else really matters?"

Claire squeezed him tightly and he let out a little gasp of air, "Oh my god, John, I forgot you were still hurt. How is your hand, are you in much pain?" She sat up very quickly and got a little dizzy. 'Hey babe, no quick movements with a concussion, it won't do you any good. I just took a couple of the pills they prescribed me so theoretically I'll be in a lot less pain shortly. I have an idea. How about you scooch over, I'll lie down next to you and you and lay your head on my chest. That way we'll both be more comfortable."

She smiled and did as he requested, moving over so he could stretch out next to her. She lay on her side pressed up against him and laid her head on his chest. "So, you are positive I can't fucking kill someone? Can I hurt them? I really want to hurt them? How about total social embarrassment?" John asked.

Claire giggled a little, "I am all for the last one. I am released from school for the rest of the week I think, when do you go back?"

"uhm, I think they said something like Thursday, if I felt up to it." John chuckled. "I'm not sure I have ever felt up to going to school, but I might make an appearance on Thursday, if Sarah is going in anyway. I don't really want her there alone anymore than I want you there without me again." As he said this last part he kissed the top of his head. "I have to tell you, I don't know what to make of your old man. He seems like a really honorable and decent guy and I have no fucking clue why he lets me near you." He stroked her back gently, can I tell you something distracting that's gonna make me sound like a complete dweeb?"

Claire stroked his chest, sending butterflies to places they had no business being when neither of them were in the condition to do anything about them, but he sure as hell wasn't going to stop her. "I am positive the world would explode if you were ever truly to behave like a dweeb." John chuckled, "thanks for the vote of confidence there Cherry. Well, you know my ma left me a letter right? In it she said Joe wasn't my real dad, but some guy up in Chicago named John Alex Grey. I've been wondering if I should look him up, but then I don't know, why the hell he would want me for a kid, I don't really know. She also said he probably didn't know I existed and stuff, that her parents were rich and well fuck princess, what do I do with that kind of info?"

"I don't know John, do you want to look for him? I mean if your mother meant something to him, why didn't he come looking for her? That would be my first question."

John replied, "Well the letter kind of answered that too, said her folks shipped her down here before she could embarrass them."

Claire huffed a little, "ok they do sound like assholes. It's nothing you have to figure out today, right? Maybe we can talk a little more about it and once we are all back in one piece maybe we can figure out some answers together?"

John sighed, "I feel like my whole life has become a special episode of the fucking twilight zone." As John made that statement Robert and Sarah came into the room.

Mr. Standish said, "Paperwork's all filled out and I got your discharge instructions and stuff so we can blow this joint. What do you say the four of us get some dinner?" The hours since Claire had been brought in, she hadn't gotten as far as lunch, had flown by and it was nearing five in the evening. Both kids looked at the adults a little sleepily and made non-committal noises about the ordeal. Robert chuckled, "Let me rephrase that, Sarah and I have decided we're all going to get a bite to eat, so you might want to sit up and get ready to head out."

Claire looked a little stressed and touched the back of her head, which was covered in gauze. John reached down to his boot and pulled off the bandanna. "Here, it might not be the most stylish of options but it will cover that area you don't want people to see, and It will be useful till you can get someone to fix up your hair for you while you are supposed to be convalescing." He grinned at her as he unfolded and refolded the Bandanna. "Give it a try?"

Claire thought about it for a minute and tied it around her hair so it looked like it should, John carefully and gently smoothed the back down. Claire found a reflective surface. "It doesn't look that bad, maybe I'll just wear scarves on my head till this heals and grows back; make a fashion statement for myself since I am no longer forced to behave like one of the popular girls." John growled a little at the mention of Claire's former friends. He stood up and offered Claire a hand getting up as well.

Mr. Standish had called for a car to come pick them up at the hospital, they all walked, Claire leaning on John, and Robert keeping an eye on Sarah Dearing who was getting better with the crutches, but still seemed a bit wobbly. They climbed into the back of the limousine; John was a little wide eyed, Claire was a bit annoyed, and Sarah was impressed. Robert thought nothing out of the ordinary about it, but offered to help Sarah maneuver her way into the car. They arrived at a restaurant so nice John didn't think dude at the front would let the motley group they were in. He was wearing clothes he'd been beaten up in, Claire was also a little blood spattered; both were in jeans and t-shirts. Sarah was in a pair of decent jeans and a sweater Claire had picked up for her, only Mr. Standish was in anything close to appropriate in chinos, a sweater, and a jacket. But they were ushered in as though they were dressed to the nines. Having money sure made things easier.

They were seated at a semi-private table in the back of the restaurant. John had never been to a place like this, there was more silverware than he knew what to do with, the menu was a leather book with no prices on any of the entrees, and they were called fucking entrees. He looked over the whole menu trying to find something he knew, and tried not to look up. He didn't want any of these people to know he was totally out of his depth and he knew he was an asshole, he didn't want to alienate any of them either. So he kept looking.

Claire looked at Sarah and her Dad who were chatting away not noticing a thing. Claire reached over, put her hand on John's knee, and gave it a gentle squeeze. She smiled at him in that way that always made him melt like a piece of chocolate. She turned his menu to the page with steaks and leaned over to whisper in his ear. "If I were you, I think I'd order a steak, baked potato, and maybe a side salad. I bet you'd like it medium or medium rare. How bloody do you like steak?" John shrugged and gave her a look that said he'd never been someplace it was even an option. "I think you'd like it medium rare, I like mine medium, it's a little less bloody, but still pink in the middle. Oh, and a tip about all the excess silver here, well, just start from the outside and work in." She kissed him on the cheek. He once again felt like he was in some kind of movie or TV show where no one had told him the plot, or given him a script.

John ordered the T-bone steak, medium rare, fries rather than the baked potato, and a salad. Figuring he could put a spin on what Claire recommended. He winked at Claire, and smiled. "Thanks for lunch Mr. Standish."

"I told you to call me Rob, John. I figure since you are dating my daughter, and I actually like you rather than the idiots she normally brings home. Besides, everyone at the office calls me Mr. Standish and I am trying to be more relaxed with family and friends. Trying anyway, I still feel kinda like I am stumbling through, so I'll cut you some slack as well John." Mr. Standish fucking winked at him; it really was the twilight zone.

The food was amazing and worth the twilight zone his life had become. He started eating like he normally would as fast as he could kind of hovering over the food. Sarah cleared her throat and said, "The food here is fantastic Robert, thank you so much for bringing us. I've never been to a place like this before, have you John?"

He had stopped eating and looked around, he thought about the things Sarah had said when he ate at her house. He reached under the table and grabbed Claire's hand, he felt completely out of his element. Claire leaned over and kissed his cheek and whispered, "just be yourself sweetheart."

John jerked his head towards here, and winced a little at the jerky movement. "reading my thoughts Princess?"

Claire laughed and shook her head gently, Sarah spoke up, "that's strictly the purview of teachers, John; didn't I tell you that once?"

The gentle banter relaxed him a great deal, enough so he didn't even notice he'd begun eating slower, until he was full and there was still food on his plate. Sarah tilted her head, "want to take that to go so you can have it later at home?"

The question took John by surprise; he'd always been told he had to clean his plate. He had, in the past, never been sure when his next meal would be. He slowly nodded, unsure of how to handle any of this. When the waiter returned, Robert said, "I think we're all about done here, so please fix what's left on the plates to go for us?"

The waiter nodded, and gathered the plates. John had to stop himself from grabbing his back – reminding himself this was a whole new and different world he was in. A world, that just a few weeks ago, he hated and made fun of, another fucking twilight zone episode in the life of one John Bender. He was beginning to feel quite tired, a lot overwhelmed, and in some serious pain. The pain was probably because he'd insisted he didn't need any damn help to eat his steak, when considering his broken hand, help probably would have made a lot more sense.

The four of them left the restaurant, and a limo was waiting outside the door. Both Sarah and John looked very confused. Robert looked kind of bashful, "I'm sorry, I took the liberty of ordering a car to be at your disposal for the day. I thought you might want to run a few errands, and I ought to get Claire home. This way, you don't have to worry about driving or taxis. And, well If you planned on picking up some of John's things, the driver can help carry things. I am sorry if I over stepped my bounds, but I just thought it would be easier."

Sarah shook her head in amazement. "Robert you are amazing, thank you for your kindness. I'm not one to kick a gift horse in the mouth. This will make things easier, so instead of the hundred ways my brain is coming up with saying no, I will simply say thank you."

The driver came around and opened the door, Claire and John climbed in first, Robert handed Sarah's crutches in and helped her into the car as well, then he joined them. When the driver got back into the car, Robert gave his address. "The service said you'd be available for the day, correct?"

"Yes Sir," said the young man driving. John was looking around with wide eyes. "There's enough room in here for one hell of a party." Claire laughed, "Yeah, that's why they are so popular for prom."

As Claire and her father were dropped off, she gave John a long lingering kiss. "Please call me later?"

"uhm, I don't know if I have your number princess." Claire opened up John's uncasted hand and wrote a number down," that's my private line." John nodded and smirked, "I promise I'll give you a buzz when we finally get everything settled, it's probably gonna be a lot later though, ok?" She nodded and smiled almost shyly and climbed out of the car after her father.

The door shut behind them, and the driver asked, "where to?" This startled Sarah a little bit, "uhm, can you give us a second?" He nodded and told them his name was George, just to let him know when they were ready.

"I need to pick some things up at the grocery store, everything in the fridge is probably bad by now, and do you want to go get some of your things?" Sarah asked John.

He fidgeted for a few minutes, "maybe you could drop me off, do your shopping and pick me back up?" Under no circumstances did he want Sarah seeing whatever mess his folks had left behind.

Sarah's brow furrowed a bit, "are you sure you want to face it all alone?"

John tilted his head and leveled a glare at her, "look I really don't want you to see whatever kind of shitty mess my folks and or the cops left behind. Where I lived was nothing like your orderly home Sarah… it was a house with a bunch of fucked up people there."

Sarah rolled her eyes, "did you listen to anything I said the other day? I am sincerely betting I have seen and lived in worse than anything inside of there. However, if you want to save me from seeing something it's fine." She sounded pissed off or something.

John sighed and ran his head through his hair, "ok, what did I say to fuck up? I'm new at this whole trying not to be an asshole thing."

Sarah sighed, "you didn't do anything wrong John I'm touchy, it's just that you don't have to protect me."

John arched an eyebrow. "Ok, well are you gonna need my help shopping or something? You are kinda gimpy." Sarah chuckled, "It would be nice to have you there so I can pick up stuff you like as well." John looked at her like she'd grown a second head, which made her laugh so hard she held her sides. "Yes, I am just going to say, yes. John I would like your help shopping. Can we get your stuff first, then go to the store so frozen stuff can stay frozen? I'll even stay in the car if you want."

He shrugged, "uh, I guess that'll be fine. My neighbors and probably friends in the neighborhood are gonna totally shit if they see me getting out of this thing." He gave the address to the driver, and the two bantered easily about meals and what kind of things they needed to shop for. Before either of them knew it, they had arrived in front of the Bender residence. John stared at the dilapidated building and weed filled yard. "I don't know if you're gonna be able to get up the crappy stairs on crutches anyway. I won't be long, ok?" Sarah nodded a little sadly; she had really hoped John wouldn't insist on doing this all on his own.

He climbed out of the limo before the driver could get to the door. "It's cool man I got it, but uh, I am gonna be bringing some bags and stuff out, could you get them from the front door to the car for me?"

The driver nodded, "Absolutely Sir, anything you need." John shook his head at being called sir and walked to the door, it was locked, so he struggled to get his keys out of his left pocket since obviously he couldn't get a cast in his pocket. He pushed the key in the lock and opened the door and was immediately overwhelmed by the stench of trash. "fuck this place needs cleaned." He muttered to himself, he looked around the living room – nothing in there he cared about, he wandered slowly through the house, checking each room. From the bathroom he grabbed the razor kit, it had belonged to Joe and he'd never been allowed to use it, but well it was his now. He also grabbed his toothbrush and went down the hall to his room. He looked around and realized there were a few things he really wanted, his guitar for one – he went searching through the house for a suitcase or bag or something; he found a decent sized suitcase in a hall closet and drug it back to his room.

He threw all his clothes in it, though they didn't fill even half of the case – so he looked under his mattress; low and behold the cops had not found his stash or pipe. God be praised, he packed himself up a bowl to smoke while he worked. He took down his anarchy, and British Flags, Grabbed his albums and put them in the case as well. He packed the rest of the pot deep in the recesses of the suitcase, finished the bowl, lit a smoke, and put the pipe in the bag with the razor. He got up and walked over to his parent's room, with great hesitation he opened the door. There were stains of blood on the bed and on the floor, he carefully stepped around them. He walked over to his mother's dresser and looked through her things; there wasn't anything really worth much. After a few minutes he decided he could come back another time to sort the rest of this shit out.

The suitcase weighed a small fucking ton, but John got it to the door and left it propping the door open, he went back a few more times for his guitar and amp. He had stashed some pictures in the guitar case. With a last look around he closed and locked the door. The driver had put everything in the car already so he simply began walking to the car. The nosy lady who lived next door, she'd been nice to him as a kid, but it had been years since he'd had any kind of meaningful talk with her, came running out of the house. "Johnny! Oh my god, it is you! I was sure they killed you too." She ran over in her house dress and slippers to hug him. "I'm alright Miss M, promise. I'm just not gonna be living here anymore."

"I should hope not, the place will have terrible energy now, I'm sure of it." That made John chuckle. "You take care of yourself, but I gotta take off." He didn't know what to say to this crazy old bat. So he got into the car as quickly as possible. Sarah had fallen asleep, curled up on one of the seats. She woke up as John got in. "I'm sorry I took so long."

Sarah waved him off, "you're fine, I just needed a cat nap to prepare me for the grocery store. It's getting kind of late isn't it?" John shrugged. "Well off we go, George do you know where the Jewel is by Northridge lane is?"

"I most certainly do ma'am and if that's where you want to go, are you all ready?" The two nodded tiredly. They arrived at the store and got through the store pretty quick, Sarah picking up items she saw John look at without commenting. He reached for the things on the top shelves and at the end the two were fairly proud of both their purchases and the time it took to get through the store.

They arrived at Sarah's house, the driver unloaded everything and refused a tip, saying that Mr. Standish had already handled all of that. He even took the groceries in, not really letting Sarah or John help. He commented, "I am to understand that the two of you were released from the hospital today and I am betting your docs would be pissed if he knew of all the gallivanting you've done so far, the least I can do is help you get your things inside. Now thank you for the pleasure of allowing me to drive you today. If you should need my services in the future, here is my card on this table." He removed his hat and nodded to the two of them and left.

Almost immediately after he left both John and Sarah burst out laughing; "Did all that really just happen?" Sarah asked. John nodded, "I really can't tell you, I am still wondering if all this is a huge ass episode of the fucking twilight zone." They got the groceries and leftovers put away. Really, John made Sarah sit down with, "sit the fuck down with your broken ankle and all, tell me where shit goes so I can figure out where to find it later, k?"

She chuckled but allowed him to do the work. "George put all your stuff in your room, which you can feel free to redecorate if you want. He also wondered if you put a body in the suitcase because of how heavy it was." She grinned at John.

"I really just packed pretty much anything I owned and actually wanted in there, cause well, there was room." John shrugged.

"John, one thing I need to talk to you about," she paused and picked at the tablecloth for a minute. "Well, it's uhm, you smelled like pot when you came out of your folks place." John waited for the rest of the commentary, probably something like it should never be brought into the house or some shit. "uhm, well..shit… do you… well… do you have any more? It's a really amazing painkiller, there have been studies done on it and gods I could use getting stoned after the last few days."

John stared at her stunned, "Yeah, sure… I was… I was so not fucking expecting you to say that. Gimme just a minute." Surely the world had tilted on some kind of weird fuckin axis. He had no idea she smoked, course not, she was a fucking teacher! He rummaged through his things till he found his bag and pipe and jogged down the hall.

He packed up a bowl and handed it to her with a lighter. "John you have to swear on your life that you will never tell a soul I do this. It's the last habit from a life I would just as soon never remember. This was always my drug of choice though, it relaxes the muscles, lets the mind sort of escape a bit. Promise?"

"Of course, shit, what did you say earlier about kicking a gift horse in the mouth, while I'm not real sure what that means, I think it means not to be an asshole to people who are nice to you… and no one has ever been as nice to me as you. This is really just an added bonus. I was like expecting you to tell me I had to quit it all together and and shit or I'd be out on my ass if it ever came in the house and shit like that."

The two share the bowl, and realized they were too tired to be hungry. Sarah took out her prescriptions and lined them up on the table, "You can put yours out here too so you remember when to take them."

Another mind fuck hit John, never in his life had anyone been willing to just leave stuff out on the table, in his world someone else would take it. He pulled the bottles out of his pocket and put them on the table, read the instructions and took what was required for the night. "I'm gonna hit the sack, I don't remember ever being this tired when I know I slept last night." They both chuckled and headed off to their respective rooms.

The next day was filled with John doing laundry, yet another bout of weirdness, everything was so clean, there was no yelling, no fighting, and he was just beginning to realize he never had to go back to that… he and Claire spoke several times, once the night he got home, and several times the next day. John was going back to school the following day, as was Sarah. Claire was staying out till Monday, but he promised to come by after school the next day.

He just didn't feel like himself or something, something was gonna have to give… soon.


	24. Chapter 24

Disclaimer: I don't own any of John Hughes characters and all that jazz.

Thursday morning started way too fucking early. Sarah knocked on John's door telling him in a tired voice it was time to get up for school, and that she was headed down to the kitchen to make coffee; she'd wrap his hand if he wanted to take a shower. He couldn't get used to just how nice she was. He came into the kitchen wearing the jeans he'd had one the day before, and had her put plastic wrap over his cast. He showered and when he walked into his room he found a neatly folded pile of clean t-shirts and another pile of clean jeans he'd left in the dryer the night before. A part of him started to get irritated. He could fucking take care of himself, but then a more rational voice spoke up, what had Sarah said 'don't kick a gift horse in the mouth'. The clothes were clean and folded. He had a nice dresser in the room; he pulled a drawer open to find it empty. Under the t-shirts were clean socks and boxers. Hell he didn't think he'd had someone else finish his laundry for him since he was a really little kid. He put on freshly clean jeans, which felt really big apparently he'd been losing weight, a long sleeved t-shirt with a flannel that wasn't ripped over it, socks and boots. As he was leaving his room he heard the shower running and hoped he'd left enough hot water. He also decided he'd make use of the dresser when he got home from school.

He walked into the kitchen and noticed not only the fresh brewed coffee but apparently homemade biscuits as well. He ate breakfast and took the medications he was prescribed. He also shoved the pill bottles in his coat pockets since he was supposed to take them later in the day. He found he was looking forward to seeing his friends, not just the guys who hung out under the bleachers either; he realized he was looking forward to seeing Sporto, Ali, and Brian. John finished drinking the coffee and eating breakfast. Another occurrence he was not used to, I mean hell he was lucky if there was food in the house let alone fresh baked biscuits. Fucking twilight zone man, that's all he knew. Eventually it might become normal, but he figured it'd be a pretty long time before fresh healthy and regular meals were normal. He went back to his room and grabbed like sixty bucks. That would by him something to eat and restock his stash.

Sarah came hobbling down the hallway, looking very teacher like. She had a nice skirt and blouse and a jacket on. John leaned back and smiled, "looking good though the crutches kind of ruin the look." Sarah laughed, "shut up," she said with a grin. Then the grin faded a little, "I am not at all comfortable in the skirt, but none of my slacks fit over the damn cast, and I don't really want to ruin them." John's face darkened," if any jocks come near you let me know, please. I am dying to kick someone's ass."

"Come on, we need to get your address changed and make sure the doctor's note is posted with the correct people at school. Actually, after school we need to do some paperwork, confirming me as your legal guardian, I think it's only a temporary arrangement, but who the hell knows, but the time any actual decision is made I think you'll be 18 and it won't matter. This is still all ok with you, right?" Sarah asked John, he got worried that she didn't want him to stay with her, but was somehow being forced to.

So, his mouth got away from him; "Ya know, I should probably crash someplace else for a days, staying here might cramp my style." Now that could have come out of his mouth in a way that didn't make him sound like an asshole, but it didn't – he said with scorn and disdain in his voice. He sounded like a total dick. He started to turn and walk out of the room. He had to make sure he had all the things he needed for school that day, like his knife.

"What's your problem this morning?" Sarah asked with exhaustion, worry, and irritation simultaneously in her voice.

John called over his shoulder, "I'm an asshole." He walked down to his bedroom. He got inside and closed the door. He knew he was a fucking burden; and really fucking worthless when it came down to it. He didn't know why he'd become like a motherfucking criminal for the first eighteen years of his life; and he was now he was suddenly treated different. Like his opinion mattered and he was being handed stuff, and he had fucking money in his pocket. He grabbed all the shit Brian had dropped off, and noticed that it was done, he silently thanked Brian. He was breathing very deeply and leaning against the door. He had to try not being an asshole. She was as hurt and tired as he was, but he could still fuck with the bastards who hurt Claire, and maybe even get a fucking rise out of Vernon. He didn't want to be a burden to Sarah. He had to go help her the fuck out!

He came back in the kitchen and grabbed her bags. "I'm ready, and look Sarah I am trying here, but sometimes my mouth gets the better of me, ya know?" She nodded and smiled at him, giving no more reaction than that.

As it turned out, John did indeed have a driver's license, and he was a good and careful driver. Nothing more was said about the morning's interaction. Sarah commented a few blocks before they got to school, "I can probably drive the last block or so to school - so being seen with me doesn't cramp your style." The comments were made softly; she could have been mean and nasty, but somewhat to her dismay, what shone through in her voice was hurt.

John already felt like a big douche – and now he knew her feelings were hurt, not to mention she shouldn't be driving at all, and if she was seen with him everyone would know he was under his protection. "Nah, I'm not sure the docs would appreciate the thought of you driving, and I don't like the idea of you being alone with all the asshole jocks around. Sarah reached over and squeezed his hand gently, but didn't hold on; she noticed his attempt to neither wince nor pull away. She quietly said, "Thanks John, that you want to be there for me means a lot to me, and well thank you for agreeing to stay with me. I already feel safer with you living in the house."

Bender was stunned, in more ways than one. First, other than quick fucks and well Claire no one had ever touched him gently or with something like gratitude. He didn't know what to do with either the verbal or sensory information. He could ignore it, blow it off with a word or comment, or he could respond in kind. He briefly wondered when the fuck he even started thinking about shit like this, but he made a conscious choice to go with door number three.

"Really Sarah, you've got no need to thank me, besides you'll realize what a pain in the ass I am soon enough. Any small repayment I do really isn't nothin'." There that only kind of made him sound like a total fuckin dork. Sarah smiled knowingly, she wanted to offer him praise, but maybe she'd done enough. John pulled smoothly into the teacher's parking lot, he realized it was early enough that no one really seemed to be there. After he stopped the car she turned to John, who was already opening the door to get out, "Hey John." Her words stopped him, and he closed the door with something of a sigh of relief, Sarah had no idea what he thought she might say.

John was thinking thank god, at least she's gonna get pissed in private.

She started, "Look, I'm a little nervous, this being my first day back and all, and I need your help carrying those bags to my classroom." John who took a deep steadying breath and nodded to her about the bags, "Look, I hope you have a really fucking great day, I mean it, the fucking best. Is your room open?"

She reached over and squeezed his hand again – this time he froze. What should he do? Did she want a hug or some shit? "Have a good day yourself, John. And remember to call me Miss Dearing here at school." He smirked "I promise to call you Miss Dearing so long as you call me Bender." He'd grabbed her bags and got out of the car.

Fuck! How had he missed the Ice? There was a huge patched between the car and school. He couldn't take the bags and fucking walk away, god damn it! John did not want his image here to change. He knew who he was, and he knew how to behave. There was a certain way he was expected to be, fuck. Then all of a sudden he missed Claire with a pang in his chest that kinda freaked him out. He wanted….. Christ on a Motherfucking crutch. He had to take care of Sarah, right now, so it didn't much matter what he wanted.

He'd always been sure if he didn't just stick around, if he said his fucked up piece and walked away life was just better. It meant he wasn't gonna get shit for who he was or what he said or did or looked like. But lately, the people who came into his life were…. different, just fucking different. His mind was almost to slow; he saw Sarah struggling with her crutches as she came to the first patch of ice – he didn't think he could move that quick or he'd ever had someone who was worth caring about beyond, ye know, get the comic relief of the situation – He steadied "Miss Dearing" he thought, and said, "Miss Dearing we're here before anyone put salt or anything down." He pointed at the small lake of ice. "We need to find another way in, or you need to let me keep you steady on the ice; those crutches aren't gonna do the job."

With a cheeky bow and a mischievous smirk he offered Miss Dearing his arm. "John…Bender what are you up to?" She held on to his arm instead of her crutch on the one side. "It's early enough that only the secretaries are in, well and apparently devoted teachers such as yourself." He was smirking and sounded sarcastic. She could see him trying to drop an ill fitting persona over himself. It was kind of how Claire picked clothes and did makeup. It was as though he were changing.

Sarah just wasn't sure he wanted to, or felt safe to. She was letting John get her slowly across the parking lot; Carl came ambling around the building, saw them, and rushed to get salt down on a much as he could. He hurried. John stopped; making Sarah stop as well. She looked over to him, "What the hell?"

John pointed to Carl. "How about we stop and let the dude do his job – I believe it's time to stop the suicide attempt from the gimp and the one handed dude. "Morning Carl. You showed up Just in time.."

Carl nodded to John, "Bender" and nodded to Sarah, "Miss Dearing, it's nice to see you. I didn't think you'd be back before the board let Anderson suspend Strickler." She paled just a bit and John noticed a distinct tensing of Sarah. Carl finished spreading the salt over their path, set the bucket down in the covered entry way to the school. As they all waited for the salt to do its job and melt the ice a little, so it wouldn't be so slick Carl asked, "I really almost hate to ask this, but would one of you tell me what the hell is going on? Bender there are some nasty rumors being spread, and well, the uh… the preppy bunch? They are sort of pulling in rank and file, everyone saying the same thing, and I mean the exact same… like it has been rehearsed." Carl lit a cigarette and said, "You can probably cross the ice safely now, but well, fuck Bender watch your back today."

Sarah felt Bender's body stiffen and she thought his anger might actually be a palpable thing. He looked at Sarah and asked in a very hard tone, "You ready for this little trek Miss Dearing?" Giving no rise to his tone she nodded and got her crutch ready, and in a playfully competitive tone she replied, "I am if you think you can get me across without either of us incurring any more injuries. I'm damn tired of getting hurt." As the words left her mouth she heard both messages buried in those words and wondered if John heard both meanings and which he would respond to.

John smirked at Sarah with a look of understanding mischievousness in his eyes. "Then let's get you across to that bench and so I can have a smoke and give Carl the lowdown on what's up." The two made it across the now melting ice with no incidents. As they reached the bench John had mentioned they sat down in exhaustion. John took out a cigarette, and offered one to Sarah who took it.

Carl watched the interaction and wasn't sure what to think.

John leaned forward, putting his elbows on his knees, holding his casted hand kind of rested his hand on his head, "So Carl, what have you heard?" Sarah sat back and closed her eyes trying to calm and center herself – Tom Strickler hadn't been suspended. She was going to have to have a long chat with Principal Anderson. As she got herself calm and pulled her mantle of 'teacher' around herself she listened in on the conversation happening between John and Carl, while smoking her cigarette.

Carl cleared his throat and stood up a little, "Well I have heard various things; uh, the two of you doing, ye know doing the nasty," He had the good grace to blush. "Uh, that you, John, are the one who... assaulted Miss Dearing. Don't get me wrong here, I didn't believe that, not even for a second. That you also hurt Claire Standish, another piece of total shit, right? Uh, I just want to know, ya know what really happened, if you, like, are up to telling me."

John chuckled and shook his head a little, "Miss Dearing do you want the honor since mine will probably be a whole lot more foul."

She smiled at John. "Thanks for saving my virgin ears. Ok, I was leaving a little late on Friday and I went out the side door, to be met by Strickler and a bunch of his friends. They assaulted me in more ways than one, and I ended up falling down the stairs over by the shop. I hear a scream… no, more like, I don't know, a fucking battle cry and suddenly no one is hurting me anymore. I guess Bender here carried me up the steps. It's true he'd been crashing in my spare room occasionally and Carl you fucking know why. Anyway, I end up in the hospital with all these fun injuries. As for Claire – Strickler's father is the one who hurt her, and the one who hurt John. Anything else you need to know?"

Carl pitched his cigarette into the parking lot. "It's what I thought out of the voices clambering. And the other thing?"

John laughed which caused him to hold his ribs. "Carl, I think she's hoping I slip up and start calling her mom." Sarah slapped him on the arm. "If you call me mom I'm sure I'll survive it, but no John, I'm not really hoping. I have better sense than that, you had a mom; I'm not her."

"That answer your question Carl." Carl nodded with a smile on his face. "Yeah kid, I get it." John finished his own smoke and pitched it out into the parking lot, while Miss Dearing dropped hers to the ground and put it out with a crutch. "So John, are you willing to help me up?" He stood and with his good arm he reached down to help pull Sarah up by her good arm. Together they got her standing and on both crutches. Her only commentary during the process was, "man, this fucking sucks." Once everyone was up they all nodded in a kind of mutual understanding. Carl clapped John on the back. "One more thing, and I promise I'll never say another word. I'm sorry to hear about the circumstances you're folks died in, can't say I'm not happy you aren't there anymore." He held the door open for student and teacher and walked down the hall without so much as a good-bye.

Sarah and John looked at one another and a quiet understanding passed between them, they had to watch each other's backs. He knew he had a few people he could count on, and he was planning on using every resource at his disposal to make sure she was never alone while that asshole Strickler was in the building. He was thinking about all of this while absently following Miss Dearing to the office. "Do you care bricks in these bags or what? Can I go put them in your class before I have to subject myself to the office willingly," John asked while holding the office door for her.

She laughed and said sure, but to come right back, no detours. The no detours part annoyed John just a little, a short detour to smoke a little in the bathroom would make him a far more pleasant individual. Miss Dearing's classroom was about half way between the office and the other side of the building on the second floor.

John decided the place was creepy before classes started. With no hassle he dropped off Sarah…no, Miss Dearing's bags and made his way back down to the office. He had no trouble, though he did indeed make made a detour or two. First to deface school property he supposed the smoke was simply an added bonus, but it was really necessary information had to be given to his fellow students. He'd written _Steph Rodgers has the clap _ in one rest room and in another _Steph Rodgers gives the worst blowjobs in Shermer, but you'll get herpes if you fuck her_. He felt particularly proud of the second tagging, it was both clever and useful information. He got back to the office with no problems; they got his address and emergency information changed. "Do I really need to be here for this?" John asked, especially since Sarah, no Miss Dearing, answered all the questions. She sighed," not really, and we're really done with what's necessary today. So go on with you. Oh, and thanks for putting my bags in the classroom."

He stopped at the door," I put them right behind your desk" and walked out without further comment. He walked under the bleachers, found his stashed pipe right where he left it, packed and immediately began to feel more like himself.

please please read and review


	25. Chapter 25

I promise more Claire in the next chapter, and maybe even a love scene as has been requested. Thank you all for your reviews, they keep me going. Notice of general disclaimer: I don't own any of John Hughes characters.

John sat with his back to a pole and let the thoughts play through his head. The cold made his hand hurt and the ground was cold, but he was blessedly fucking alone. He packed his one hitter again and cashed it swiftly. It felt like forever since he'd just had some time to really think. He smiled to himself when he thought of the bathrooms; he might even get some of the other guys to graffiti the stalls and walls just a little. She was a bitch, everyone knew it, and she hurt Claire; therefore, she totally fucking deserved every fucking little thing anyone in this school, with his encouragement of course, could throw her direction.

Slowly people began to trickle in guys he knew, guys he didn't, mostly he didn't even know what to fucking say to people. He didn't know how fucked up the rumors had made things. Two Madonna wanna-be chicks walked by, saw him and moved a little away. They started whispering. He stood up and they hurried away from the bleachers. John sighed, "fuck." He didn't have a watch and was curious to know what time it was – he saw Andy's black Bronco and went to move towards it. He was stopped by none other than Spaz, police officer Mike's daughter's boyfriend. "Yo Bender," John stopped and pivoted on his heal towards the voice. "Nice to see you back dude, things just ain't the same without you here. I gotta tell you man, I've got your back if you need it, I don't believe none of the bullshit being said 'bout you. I know you man." Spaz said all this in one breath, John sometimes wondered about the guy.

John grinned, "Nice to know, I had a chat with your little girlfriend's old man the other day."

Spaz paled, "You gotta be fuckin kidding me man, he's a fucking cop. Why the fuck were you talking to him?"

John nodded, "Yeah I know he's a cop; he's one of the lead dudes on both mine and Miss Dearing's cases. Don't look so stressed man; I put in a good word for you."

Spaz relaxed instantly, "a good word for me? Thanks dude, that's alright. Just so you know, we, ya know, like all us guys down here, and in shop, we got your back. We all know the real story. That crazy chick you know, Allison I think, anyway she came down and gave us all the low down on what really happened. Fuckin brought her boyfriend Clark and shit. And Big Bri, ya know the little nerd in shop told everyone down in the shop, he's a pretty straight dude, a total dweeb, but alright, ya know. What I can't fucking believe is that both Strickler and Rodgers were in school yesterday all day. Fucking bitch wasn't even sent home, don't know if she got suspended or nothing and Strickler's still here too, after what that faggot did, I don't know man. I just don't get this place sometimes."

John smiled and told Spaz he'd see him later, and walked over to the Bronco, Andy and Allison were still sitting in it. John did a little drumming on the hood, which apparently made Andy freak a little which, in turn, made John super fuckin happy. Andy jumped out, "You better not have dented my hood man."

John leaned back against the truck and replied, "If my fists doing a little drumming dent your hood, my fists ain't the problem, I'd have a look at the car." John said all this in his lackadaisical way with a smirk on his face. He put his casted arm on the hood and closed his eyes, enjoying the warmth on his fingers for just a minute. "So how's your week been so far? You and Ali get any shit?

Andy smiled and shook his head, "Nah, people are too busy spreading rumors about you to even notice Ali and me. Today might have been the test, but after the shit that went down with Claire yesterday, we'll see what today has to bring. John leaned over and said quietly to Andy, "I am doing my level best to spread the rumor that the only reason Strickler is dating Steph is to keep her quiet about giving her herpes, already defaced a few public restrooms with the knowledge that she does indeed have a venereal disease. Willing to help me out with that?"

Andy looked almost horrified, then as the thought sunk in, he nodded," I'll bet we could even get Brian in on it. He is the one who found Claire yesterday morning. He was all kinds of shook up about it. Specially since his mom won't let him go see her, said he shouldn't be distracting himself with people who get into fights, I couldn't fucking believe it man. I think his mom may be almost as big a bitch as my old man." Allison slid out of the truck having finished some bit of homework she was doing. John shook his head, "That's what Rob" he thought quickly adding, "Standish said Claire's mom did. Said he had bad fucking manners to get into a fight. I haven't even met her and I hate that bitch."

Allison didn't say anything to John's statement because she realized at least by saying nothing, her parents weren't saying such shitty things. "So, what are we doing to make sure that bitch pays for what she did, and so does that scumbag jock?" Before John could answer Brian came up, "Hey guys," he looked at John, "uh, how's Claire?"

John smiled, he knew she would be all girly and touched by his asking, he'd have to try and remember to tell her. "Uh, let's see, she's got two equally brilliant shiners, her nose was broken, but they don't think there will be any permanent cosmetic damage," (the second part was said in a voice totally mocking one of the doctors,) "she had to get stitches in her scalp, and a few by her eye. I don't remember how many, but she was morning the cutting of her hair pretty bad." Just thinking about her made his stomach do these weird flip flops, and made him consider skipping to go hang with her today.

Brian asked, "did she have a concussion or anything? I guess she hit the wall pretty hard."

John replied with a snap of his fingers, "that's what I was forgetting; yeah, apparently she had a pretty nasty concussion. Her old man was supposed to stay up all night, so he to wake her up ever couple of hours. I did my good deed by taking over pretty early this morning. I gave her a call to make sure she was still ok. Aside from calling me a few choice names, don't let that innocent face lull you into thinking that girl doesn't have quite the fucking vocabulary, she is doing alright. She's out till Monday. The four of them talked while john smoked another cigarette, and the first bell rang. John started heading towards the building, which shocked everyone who knew him. "I've got to make sure I'm not gonna get in trouble for having my scripts and shit on me. With all the shit that's been goin on, it would be just like my luck to have somebody try and bust me for having doctor ordered fuckin pills with me."

The others shrugged, and Allison hollered, "Later Bender?" He turned, walking backwards and nodded, while simultaneously doing a shooting motion at Andy. Andy realized he was supposed to pass the plan on, which he did.

John walked into the office, he really did hate this place. However, there was a secretary or two who had a soft spot for the bad boy. He walked over to one of them "Morning Marlene, that husband of yours still keeping you happy? You know I am pining away for you." Marlene had been at Shermer for nearly 30 years and had seen every kind of kid there was. There was just something about Bender that made her smile. She looked up at him with that smile, "Glad to see you back, now how have you been boy, I have heard some of the worst stuff. I see your hands all in a cast. Now let me tell you, I know it's not true that stuff about you hurt Miss Dearing, else you wouldn't be staying with her, but what about the other stuff?"

John was truly confused, "what other stuff?"

She got up, and kind of moved up to the counter, and whispered quite loudly, "I've been arguing with the other girls about all of this, did you beat up Tommy Strickler? I bet yes… 5 dollars. John chuckled and nodded. She made the cha-ching sound and motion of winning a slot machine. Ok, now I bet 25 that you never laid a hand on one Miss Claire Standish 'cept maybe to kiss her, cause I saw you two sneaking around before all the nastiness went down. John scowled a little, but smirked at her. "You know me well Marlene, I wouldn't hurt a hair on her head." Marlene nodded. " Good, now I have it right from the horse's mouth."

John briefly wondered what the hell was with all the horse metaphors, then let it go. "I need to see the nurse. And kind of wondering if I could make a phone call, but can you answer me a question first?" Marlene nodded eagerly, "anything for you sugar, shoot."

"Are both Strickler and Rodgers still here, as in not suspended?" John kind of growled the question.

"Marlene got a really irritated look on her face. The Rodgers girl was sent home, and suspended till Monday. However, I have it on good authority, the school board won't let principal Anderson suspend Tommy Strickler until the football season is over. There are two more games to the playoffs. Greedy bastards."

"Thank you beautiful, now uhm, I need the nurse, he held up his cast, and you said I could use the phone?" John said in his smoothest voice.

Marlene held the small swinging door open for John, you can use the one on my desk. I think Nurse Louann is already in hon – just go on back." He gave her a mildly indecent smirk and wink. "Sadly, I have to see the nurse first." He walked down the small hallway past the closed door of Principal Anderson, and past the … fuck… open door to Vernon's office. John tried to move smoothly on by, but no. "What in the sam hell are you doing back here Bender? Get sent down already?" Vernon stopped him from going any further.

"I'm going to the nurses office Dick. Is that ok with you?" He raised his broken right hand. Vernon's demeanor changed just a little, "well hurry on with you then, stop loitering around." John thought he'd get a great rise out of Vernon if he pointed out there would have been no loitering at all if Vernon hadn't stopped John in the first place. But he thought better of it. He did want to make a phone call before long. He walked into the nurses office.

He came in the room quietly, the door was standing open and Louann, a sweet middle aged woman who had always helped him out and didn't answer questions, which automatically meant he liked her. Louann had been forced to report the abuse John suffered a number of times, but nothing has ever seemed to change, she felt sorry for the boy. She also should have known better than to daydream with her back to the open door. When she heard Bender's voice she jumped and he laughed but said, "uhm hey, "I'm working on a new student project, to see if my mind will actually melt if I turn into a decent person for too long. Anyway, uh, I know these" and he shook the two bottles, "are technically controlled substances, and therefore you are supposed to know I have them," he handed her the pill bottles. She read the labels. "I think lightning may strike someone somewhere, but thank you Mr. Bender. It'll make both our lives easier if you just keep these." She handed him his pill bottles back. "How are you doing this morning anyway? Is the hand ok?" She lowered her voice but never really stopped, even for breath John thought. "My sister is one of the x-ray techs down at the hospital, she was on duty when they brought you in from that….that.. brutality. I am sorry you were hurt, especially after all you did to help Miss Dearing. What a name, she is such a dear too." John now remembered why he didn't go to the nurse if he could possibly help it- this woman never stopped talking. "… then I was told the board said there was no proof yet provided that Tommy Strickler really attacked her, and he was to be allowed to come to school and even still play. I promise you Bender, steam came out of my ears. Everyone down here knows you'd never hit a woman, heck half of us half enjoy all the trouble you cause Mr. Vernon, keeps him on his toes I say." She chuckled at her own joke and went to write something down in her log. "Now do you need a hall pass?

John thought about just how twilight zone like all of a sudden, like did he look different? Now there were certainly folks keeping away, but they always did that. It was all these people coming out as having his back. Now, when it didn't fucking matter cause hell his folks, the people who'd been abusing him his whole life were gone. Why weren't they this nice to him then? Why didn't they believe him then? "Yeah, probably, thanks." John put the bottles them back in his coat pocket. He managed to escape while she was writing so he didn't have to hear any more.

As he was walking back to the office, he put the hall pass in his pocket and dug out a card. He had a card for the chief of fucking police. How fucking weird, but now useful.

Then he started thinking about his plan again if the rumors and stuff started from a bunch of directions…it couldn't get pinned back to him, besides what were they gonna do, give him detention? Anyway, he walked back in and waited for Marlene to be done talking to some freshman kid. "You still need to use the phone sugar?" John smirked and nodded.

He kind of wished there was someplace private to do this, but well, he had to do it, and this came in maybe a kind of cool way. Everyone in the school office would know he could reach police, and wasn't afraid of doing it. It was a totally different kind of fear, and John was kind of grooving on how it gave a different sort of power. Then he thought better of it. Maybe save the big guns for a more opportune moment. He was pretty sure he could get the same effect by calling Mike Talmand.

Ok, the freakiest part of life at present was that the fucker walked into the office with his kids in tow and a sheepish look on his face. Marlene bustled over to them immediately and John followed her discreetly as he could. "Hi, our entire household overslept this morning." John wondered why the dude looked guilty, that kind of shit happened to everyone. Marlene spoke up, "my Harold needed 3 alarm clocks placed all around our room, otherwise he'd always oversleep. I mean I remember…" John took a step forward to try and catch Mike's eyes. He did, john learned at that moment, the cop didn't miss much that was happening. John put his hand on Marlene's shoulder. "I hate to interrupt you gorgeous." She interrupted him with a cough and a chuckle. "You love to interrupt, Bender" She grinned at him, fucking grinned.

He smirked, and said "thank you for bending the rules for me, but as it turns out I don't need to use the phone immediately… but I might later, ok?" She nodded. She whispered loudly again, "Bender keep your eyes and ears open, there's a strange tension here at school this week."

John thanked her and left her the office to stand on the other side of the desk; sitting down till Mike's kids were taken care of. After about 10 minutes that sounded like confusion from Mike, and from the kids complete irritation at their dork of a father. Even Alex…. John thought about the coincidence of names for just a sec and filed it away for future thought. John stepped up, "Mike, uh Officer Talmand, they," he pointed at his kids, just need hall passes to get to class. You can explain why all day, but you'll just make them later." He stuck his hands in his pockets and rocked back a little on his boots, then slouched a little into a chair, too much slouching hurt his ribs, but too little made him look like a dork.

John was correct, and Lisa and Alex got hall passes, and walked passed him with looks of gratitude for making their Dad shut up. He nodded, but said nothing. Mike turned and noticed Bender about half sitting in one of the chairs literally twiddling his thumbs. "Don't you have someplace to be?" John nodded and got up hoping Mike would get the idea to follow him. He walked down passed the activities hall and out a side door. No alarm went off, so it must have been disconnected, Mike thought to himself. "Aren't all these side doors supposed to have alarms attached?" John nodded again and offered Mike a cigarette. "Sure, since I'm going in after this. See, I technically quit and well the wife can smell it on me, it's just been a hell of a few days, but I guess you know that better than I do."

John tilted his head to the side, "does your mouth always run away from you like that?'

Mike looked a little embarrassed, "I guess, but generally only when the kids are involved."

John chuckled a little, "I was scared for your safety man, I thought your girl, lisa, right? Was gonna stab you in the eye with a pencil if you didn't cut her loose, and I'm pretty sure her brother would have applauded. You sounded like a huge dork."

Mike looked carefully over John, "Was there a reason for this little tête-à-tête or were you just telling me I sound like a moron when it comes to my kids?"

With no further preamble, John said, "Tom Strickler is still here. I don't want Miss Dearing to have to deal with him, she practically has panic attacks thinking about that little fucker and both her and Claire and made me fucking promise I won't lay a finger on him. For some dumb ass reason I just can't break those promises man, but can we get, I don't know a police presence here?"

"You've seen him?" Mike asked.

"Well Carl, the head Janitor here, told us this morning; but yeah, just as you were mortifying you're your kids I saw him walk by. She's got a restraining order against him, right? That means he can't go into her classroom right? Please tell me that's fuckin right."

"As I understand things, yeah, that's right. I will see what I can do for you John. Now go to fucking class will you. My kids think you're a god damned hero again, set some kind of fucking example that doesn't smell like you've been sucking on a joint all morning." Mike said as he was walking towards his car.

John stepped back into the building unseen, he went to his locker and dug a few sharpies out, grabbed a notebook and tired to remember what class he had right now. He was typically out by the bleachers but he'd been talking to the gang and come inside instead. Huh. Instead, John went to several other men's rooms to make sure the guys of Shermer understood what a skanky whore Steph Rodgers was.

The bell rang and John ambled to his next class, which was English. He noticed a bunch of the preppy bitches Claire was normally with, but not the head bitch herself. Maybe she'd gotten suspended anyway. He gave a smirk to Miss Dearing as he put his booted feet up on the chair in front of him. He wasn't sure how he was supposed to do much of anything since he couldn't write very well with his hand all busted and shit, not that he wasn't doing a truly legible job of it on various walls, but well writing down shit for classes was different, not that he'd ever let people know he fuckin took notes anyway. The bell rang and as Miss Dearing was about to crutch over to get the door, John kicked the chair of a nerd and said "go help the lady." The nerd in question, whose name John did not know jumped up and practically ran to the door to pull it shut, when he was pushed to the side by none other than Tom Strickler. John had forgotten he was in this fucking class. The nerd pulled the door shut after him. Tom looked around and went to go sit at a desk surrounded by preppy bitches. John looked up at Miss Dearing, she'd dropped to her seat, her crutches had dropped, and she was pale as a sheet, and shaking a little. FUCK!

XXX

Mike got into the office in record time; he walked past his desk, knowing he was late, and straight to the chief's office. He knocked on the door and was given a hollered 'enter'. He walked in and pulled the door shut behind him. Chief Jones looked up from a report he was reading, "Nice of you to grace us with your presence Talmand. What can I do for you?"

"Look, I'm sorry I'm late, our electricity must have blinked during the night. No one's alarm went off and I got stuck taking the kids to school. But that's not why I am here, uh, is there a restraining order against Tom Strickler on file?"

Mike now had the chief's full attention, "yeah, why?"

"Well apparently he has not been suspended from Shermer. That little preamble was to let you know I saw Bender there this morning, and he asked if the boy was allowed to attend her class since there was a restraining order in place and he'd been seen in the building. Apparently there has been pressure to let the boy stay in school so long as he keeps his nose clean because the football team has the chance to make playoffs so someone doesn't want to suspend him."

"God damnit"! Anderson said he'd take care of that shit. Thanks for letting me know Mike." That was apparently his dismissal as Adam Jones picked up his phone and started dialing.

Mike went to his desk. "Mornin Jimmy, anything interesting happening?"

Jimmy shook his head, "nah, it's pretty dead this morning, I've got this weird feeling like it's the calm before the storm or something."

XXX

Back at Shermer, Miss Dearing was trying, to calm herself. "Open your books to page 343, and begin reading to yourselves. If you didn't bring a book, share with someone. I'll be right back." Sarah Dearing shakily got her crutches under her and walked out of the room and towards the office. After about a minute or two, John decided it was safe to follow her, so it looked like he was just ditching class with the teacher gone.

Instead of his usual wandering of the halls, John made his way toward the office, where he suspected Miss Dearing had gone. The door was being held open by a couple of students arguing and he could clearly see Miss Dearing inside trying to explain something to the secretaries. The idiots arguing in the doorway made it hard for him to hear what Sarah was saying, but she seemed to be getting more upset by the minute. She appeared to begin physically shaking at which point Bender pulled open the other door to the office startling the arguing idiots. Sarah was apparently having trouble catching her breath; John watched as she said, "I understand"… she tried to take a breath… "that he is not suspended"… try to take another breath… "You have to understand I cannot" … another attempt to breathe… at this John was just fed up, he leaned against the desk, only barely touching his guardian and teacher. "I got bored listening to bullshit garbage about myself so I decided to find out if you are going to be controlling our rowdy class or not." The undertone of worry was not lost on Sarah Dearing, though he probably sounded like the same jerk he always had to everyone else. She gave him a look; one that could be read as a teacher chastising a student or as something of a thank you. Sarah took a deep breath, finally able to breathe, not that she put the reason for it together, but she said "Look, there is a restraining order against him"… she panted a bit, but not at all like she was before… "it states he cannot come within 500 feet of me, my classroom is not that big." She was still a little out of breath from the mild anxiety attack she'd had, but was looking better all the time. "John, you should go back to class. I am going to make use of that card Adam gave me to confirm I have my facts straight."

She started to go back behind the office when Principal Anderson walked out. "Miss Dearing, I didn't expect to see you. Don't you have a class right now?"

She nodded at him and tried to make sure her breathing was under control. John moved away from the front desk, but moved into a shadow in the office. Not leaving till he was sure she was ok.

"I do Principal Anderson, but there is a problem with my class this period."

"What's that?" John knew in that moment, Principal Anderson knew exactly what the fucking problem was, now to see if he was going to do anything about it.

Miss Dearing, John reminded himself, was still having that anxiety attack. He could see it in the way she shook, his ma used to get shaky when Joe was being a particular bastard. He was tempted to walk over to her, it seemed to calm her down, but he didn't know if she'd appreciate it. It might make things worse for her here.

"Well sir, I have… you see… there is a restraining order against….against Tom Strickler." She took a somewhat shallow breath to John's dismay, he stood up a little straighter, but didn't come forward. "He is not to come within 500 feet of me."

One of the secretaries, the annoying bitchy one whose name John failed to remember, "Miss Dearing we can't possibly comply with that unless he were suspended. He couldn't come into the same hallways as your classroom is in."

Sarah turned to her and said, "I don't find that to be a problem. Do you Principal Anderson? The farther away from me he is the better and I am appalled that he isn't suspended. He assaulted me, a teacher at your school, and yet he appears not to be punished at all. Wasn't Stephanie Rodgers suspended for a week for her altercation with Claire Standish? Why the double standard?"

Go Sarah! John thought, give these hypocritical bastards a piece of your mind. She seemed to be breathing better, and he didn't figure she would reenter the classroom while the jackass was in the room. He had hoped talking to Mike would have done some good this morning, he guessed not. While listening to the office try and keep Miss Dearing calm he slipped out the door and outside for a smoke. He sure as hell wasn't going back to the fucking class. He'd promised both Claire and Sarah he wouldn't kill the spoiled fucker, but it didn't mean he had to sit in a fucking room with him.

John left just before one of the secretaries muttered something about an alleged attack and mutter the name John Bender under her breathe. Sarah started to see red. "Principal Anderson is there a phone I can use somewhere around here? I am going to make a couple of phone calls, to make sure I have my information correct." Sarah turned to the muttering secretary, and asked quite politely if she did say herself, "What did you say?"

The secretary straightened herself up, and smoothed her polyester blouse down. "I said, we all understand that you think you saw Tommy because he was the one who saved you, but you really shouldn't treat him so badly and yet to be nice to the real criminal."

Sarah took a deep calming breath, "Did I hear you mention who you thought the actual criminal is?" she continued to sound polite, although the saccerine sweetness with which she was asking her questions made the principal very worried. He hadn't heard Violet, thinks that's the woman's name, say anything so he didn't know why Miss Dearing was so angry.

"I don't know if you heard anything, but we all know it was really something a criminal like John Bender would do." Principal Anderson stepped in front of Violet, because he thought Miss Dearing just might hit her. "Miss Dearing, I understand the law, and you are correct, Mr. Strickler should have been transferred out of your class if he wasn't suspended. I wasn't aware the change hadn't taken place. And well I will suspend him if that is your request."

"I fucking request it! I would like to think I worked in a school where a teacher who had been assaulted didn't have to come back to see the student who nearly RAPED HER walk into her classroom as though nothing had happened. I cannot go back into that classroom, the only way I ever want to see that boy again is in a court of law or behind bars. Do you understand me Principal Anderson!"

"Yes Miss Dearing. I understand you. I am sorry this happened; I don't know what's going on with students. Miss Thomas," he called to one of the secretaries, "would you please call have Thomas Strickler pulled from class so he can be sent home, I will call his parents. If you do not want to see Mr. Strickler again," before the principal finished his sentence a uniformed police officer walked in the door.

"I am here as an escort for Miss Dearing, as requested by Chief Jones."

Sarah took a deep breath, and released it feeling instantly better about the city. "That would be me sir, would you walk me back to class?"

"Yes ma'am, it's my job to shadow you apparently. I'll try to be discreet."

"Thank you officer…?"

"I'm Officer Thomas James, ma'am."

Sarah asked, "can I call you Thomas or would you prefer Officer James?"

Thomas shrugged, "I'm to be one of the people who will be with you until the arraignment of the cases pending for you and Mr. Bender. So you'll be seeing a lot of me, so call me whatever you want."

The statement caused eyebrows all over the office to rise. Sarah turned to the principal, "so I can go back to class and be assured he won't be there?"

Thomas asked, "who?"

Sarah said, "Strickler."

He looked confused, "I thought he would have been suspended after reading the report. Are you ready to head back to class?" Officer James held the door open for Sarah.

John saw the police car arrive and thought, 'it's about damn time' I hope they sent someone to protect her. John sat under the bleachers in a small protected alcove waiting out the sudden rain which had started. He packed another bowl and thought about Claire.


	26. Chapter 26

John wished he had some way to call Claire, there weren't any payphones nearby, and well he had to go back into school soon. The twilight zone of John's life didn't change back to the usually scheduled programs. There was a cop not far from Miss Dearing all day, which meant he really didn't want to be too close. He kept an eye on her from the shadows.

What surprised him the most was what he found on the lockers and the bathroom stalls: graffiti. Amazing stuff, the plan worked so much better than he could have hoped for: Steph Rodgers had every venereal disease known to man, and a few John hadn't heard of, and across her locker someone had written _WHORE_ in very large letters. He was amazed at the artistry, and wished he had a way to take a picture for Claire. Damnit, there she was again, he couldn't go 10 damn minutes without thinking about her. What the fuck was wrong with him?

He leaned back against the wall across from the lockers, and held his ribs as he laughed. Hysterically laughed, so much so that people started to worry about him – he slid down the wall and laughed and continued to laugh. _Whore_ was written in giant letters on one locker, and on the other was _Rapist_. Vernon came down the hall hollering his name, and it only made John laugh harder. Vernon was standing over him yelling some bullshit and John was just laughing. Gods, he was laughing so hard it hurt, and he couldn't stop. Brian thought quickly, and went for Miss Dearing. Andy and Allison tried to get him calmed down, but everything was just so fucking funny.

His whole life, what else could he do? I mean his whole fuckin life no one cared. As soon as he finds someone who does, Claire, he immediately get's her life all kinds of fucked up. Miss Dearing tried to be nice to him and her life gets fucked up, but they still wanted him around. For nearly 18 years no one had given a fuck, the moment he feels like it can't get any worse, his ma makes him a fucking orphan. It was so god damned funny. He couldn't help but laugh, and somehow it was embodied in the god damned lockers in front of him. Apparently a bell rang, he couldn't really hear it. Suddenly Vernon is red faced and has been moved away by a cop and John feels like his head hit something. Miss Dearing is on the ground, his head is on a jacket and in her lap. John sits up quickly; it makes him kind of dizzy, but he's got to know "what the fuck happened?"

Miss Dearing puts her hand on his shoulder to steady him. "You passed out. I am sending you home. And please don't bother arguing with me. Officer James has a partner who will be taking you, and you have no choice. Yes, I understand it's not a punishment to make you leave school. However, if you don't get some rest, I will not let you go out to Claire's later." She sounded very firm and all motherly. John found it really fucking amusing, he arched an eyebrow at the whole she wouldn't let him, but let it go for the moment.

Red-faced Vernon screamed "who is going to take care of all this graffiti? I know he's at fault for it! It's always you Bender." Officer Jameson shook Vernon a little. Jameson was a good sized man, but still, it appeared he was a whole lot stronger than he looked, by the way he shook Vice Principal Vernon around like a rag doll. "Did you see his reaction? Have you ever paid any attention to humans, Man? That," and he points at John, "is not the reaction of the perpetrator of a crime." He moved away from him, but placed himself between Vernon and John. Jameson said, "and by the way, nice way to speak to students. Why don't you take a hike, you are not necessary here. If someone wishes to speak to this young man, they need to go through his guardian – that would be Miss Dearing, I believe. "

John then noticed, Andy, Allison, and Brian looking kind of totally worried. He looked at Sarah, "I'll be honest, I remember walking in and seeing all this shit and finding it funny, that's like the last thing I remember. What? Did I have some kind of fucking meltdown."

Allison shrugged, "kinda, I guess. You appeared to laugh until you passed out, like you ran out of air. Before that it was like you couldn't hear any of us."

John shook his head to try and clear it, only to find that was really not a good idea. Sarah steadied John again, kind of how he calmed her, she seemed to be able to do something similar but only if she touched him. Ignoring that little nugget of wisdom John asked, "How are you getting home Miss Dearing? If I remember correctly you can't drive."

She smirked and it looked a little like his own smirk, it was kinda creepy. "I'll find you a ride home, or someone who can drive you in the car, and I'll just go home with the officer here."

John paled, "are we under some kind of house arrest or something?"

Sarah looked at him as though he was a child who'd said something funny, "No Bender, we're under their protection."

He gave her a mildly snarky look, "can someone at least take me to Claire's? If I'm prone to these fits shouldn't someone be around for me?" He wondered if she would send one of the cops with him, "come on, at least let me convalesce with my girlfriend."

"If you can find a way to make certain it's alright with her parent's I'll live with that compromise."

John gave her a very strange look, "One, how the fuck am I supposed to do that? And two, this following the rules crap is for the birds." That caused Sarah to laugh. She helped John up, and to an empty classroom, followed by a small group comprised of Andy, Allison and Jameson; Big Bri must have gone to class.

"Call the girl. I bet you can sweet talk one of those secretaries into letting you call her, and they'll think it's adorable." Miss Dearing commented. "Besides you need help getting to the office."

"Bullshit, believe me, I know the way." John kind of snarled.

Miss Dearing laughed and stepped away from John, "whatever you say Bender. As soon as she was no longer holding him up he started to fall. "Fuck! How'd I get a fucking concussion?"

Andy spoke up, "by smacking your head on the floor dude. You passed out, like out cold man. I have never seen anyone laugh till they passed out it was wicked." Allison smacked Sporto in the head.

"Gee thanks, Sporto, good to know you get amusement out of my skull cracking." John muttered. "Ok, I'm going to the office, I am sure I'll be fine. Is there a reason I can't just leave?"

"Yes, because I am a teacher, Bender. And while you are my ward I will make my attempts to curb your penchant for skipping school." Miss Dearing said in a slightly exasperated way.

John shook his head a bit. "I'm fine, and I'll go call Claire so that you will let me got to her place. Can I take the car?"

"You just admitted to a concussion, I'd rather you not drive, but If you are sure.." she handed him her keys.

John grabbed the keys and walked out of the room, a little dizzy but otherwise just fine. He turned the corner to head down to the office and was caught off guard due to his recent head injuries, picked up by his neck and slammed into a wall, rattling his already aching head, when his vision cleared he saw a very pissed off Tom Strickler holding him up and choking him.

"You fucking wastoid. You are ruining my fucking life. I am about to be suspended because of you. We didn't do much of anything to that stupid bitch, and I bet your old man beat you harder than mine ever did, but I am going to fucking kill you."

Suddenly, John is slipping to the ground, black spots swim before his eyes just before he passed out from the lack of oxygen, which was the moment he hit the ground.

What John missed was Jameson trailing John; he yanked Strickler away from him, dropped him to his knees and cuffed him. "You are not supposed to be here young man. I am going to make certain you aren't any more because you are a danger to others." Jameson picked up his radio and made a call down town.

"I need someone to pick up a kid who is presently the subject of an investigation committing further assaults. I'll have him cuffed to a chair in the office."

Just then, as a stroke of luck, or perhaps not, Vernon turned the corner and saw Bender crumpled on the ground, and Strickler in cuffs. He ran up to Officer Jameson. "What the fuck happened?"

Jameson gave him a nasty look, essentially asking if he really cared, but as a trained officer he answered the man, then the ball could be in his court. "I came upon this criminal case trying to strangle Mr. Bender here, who was on the way to the office. He needs someone to take him home and watch him or should I have him taken out by stretcher again? Do me a favor and get Sarah Dearing over here so I can get this brat to the office." Jameson started to drag Tommy Strickler towards the office as Vernon took off at a jog for the room he'd last seen Miss Dearing in.

He reached the room slightly out of breath, "Strickler hurt Bender again. I need some help.' Andy, Allison, and Sarah all moved as quickly as they could. Sarah was the slowest on crutches, she grabbed Vernon. "What happened?"

He looked apologetic and shrugged, "I came upon them after it was over, but Bender is out cold and the cop took Strickler to the office in cuffs."

Sarah sighed," Mr. Vernon, can I use your office phone please?" They reached John, who was beginning to come to, but he had vicious red marks, which would become bruises soon enough, around his neck. The marks looked just like the shape of fingers. Sarah looked at Andy and Ali, "will you too please keep an eye on him? I am getting him out of here, I just need to make a phone call." She turned to Vernon, "Please give them all hall passes so there is no question of propriety here. Is your office open?" Vernon nodded and pulled hall passes out of his pocket; he wrote them out for all three. He handed them to Andy and didn't say another word. He couldn't believe it. But it really seemed like Bender was actually in trouble here.

Maybe he'd really been wrong all this time. Christ maybe he just needed a new fucking job. Vernon didn't quite know what to think anymore. What the fuck was Tom Strickler thinking? He didn't think he'd been a trouble maker in the past, but now, shit, the boy was a regular violence problem. Was it possible he'd gotten Bender wrong all these years? He didn't think so, but hell he just didn't know any more. As he walked towards his office he heard Miss Dearing on his phone. "Thanks Rob, you are a life saver. So you'll send a car around and he can stay with Claire for the time being? I am pretty sure if I tried to send him home he'd kill himself trying to get to her anyway. Thanks, can it not be a limo this time; I'm not sure he'd get in. And if you can think of anyone he might trust to be in the car, I really think someone needs to keep an eye on him. If I thought I could get him back to the hospital I would. Yeah, he is just a little stubborn, but damn he's been through so much lately. I agree. Thanks Rob. So 10 minutes? Excellent."

Vernon couldn't help but wonder who Rob was and what he had to do with Claire Standish… if that was indeed the Claire being referred to, and he thought it was. But he walked into his office, "all set?"

Sarah nodded at him tiredly. "Taking care of kids is a lot of work. I am teaching next section so as soon as I get John out of here I'll be headed to my classroom, if you need me for anything. She left the office and headed back to the area the kids were in. John was awake, if not fully coherent, and angry, but his vocal cords must have been injured as he had little voice. "God damnit, why won't they let me just kill that little fucker, I'm sure we can find a place to hide the body, right klepto?

Allison laughed a little, trying not to show just how worried she was about her friend. John started talking again, "Sporto, I had no idea our little plan would work so well, I mean there's shit written I've never even thought of. It's fucking beautiful.

Andy quietly commented, "I only told a few of my buddies, those I really thought I could trust. Dude, I think it has more to do with the truth coming out." The comment made John laugh hoarsely. Miss Dearing approached, "John, Rob is sending a car around to take you back to his place. He said Claire has been complaining all day, and is apparently anxious to see you alive and well." She looked at the two standing with John, as the bell rang and suddenly the hall was filled with students. "Think you three can get to the front doors without any problems? Allison smiled, "Vernon gave us all hall passes, and yeah, we can get John to the car. You look like you need to sit down." Miss Dearing nodded.

John's head moved quickly to scan her up and down. "Miss Dearing, go to class. Sit down, I promise I'm leaving so I can't cause any more trouble. You look like hell."

She smiled tiredly, "Thanks a lot, John, means everything that you speak so kindly. But you need to understand something Mister, you have caused me no trouble, and any you do, well you are worth it, so shut up and go to your damn girlfriend's place."

"Come the fuck on, you know what I mean." John bantered back.

She nodded, "see you at home, later. Don't be too late or dinner will be cold."

Andy and Allison got John to the waiting car; a driver opened the door for him, and he climbs in. "Thanks guys, see ya, maybe tomorrow, maybe I'll just stay out till Monday…. Come by later or something."

XX

John fell asleep almost immediately, and was awakened by Robert Standish who was squatting next to the open door with his hand on John's shoulder, "John, wake up kid. I can't carry you into the house and I don't think you could ever live it anyway."

John came awake suddenly, "Fuck, I didn't expect to fall asleep. We're here already." His voice was gravely and quiet. Robert saw the bruises around John's neck and was instantly pissed off.

John got out of the car, and held on to the car as a wave of dizziness hit him. Rob grabbed him, "why don't you hold on to my arm, I promise there's no one around, your dignity is safe, but Claire will kill me if I let something happen to you in our damned yard, alright."

John thought about it, the house looked really far away. "Fuck, alright, but Christ I'm not a fucking wimp, I don't know what is wrong with me. "

Rob Standish gave John a discerning look over, "Well it looks like you've been beaten to hell, and had a pretty rough couple of days. So, I think you are allowed to show a little weakness, I swear I won't say a word. In fact, you can let go as soon as we get to the house. I have to warn you, my wife Karen is home, and you and I both know she is a bitch. Please hold your temper, no matter what crap comes out of her mouth. I'm pretty sure she started drinking with breakfast. So, we get in the house and you head up to Claire's room, I think you know where it is, right?

John nodded, focusing on walking and remaining upright. The world was spinning like he was drunk, and hell he hadn't even smoked a lot today. Had he? He half listened to Standish… er … Robert.. whatever, ok. So wifey is home..got it. "Yeah, I know where Claire's room is, just never been there through the front door before."

That made Rob laugh, "I am certain I don't want to know what's behind that statement. Go up the stairs, her room is straight to your left."

They got to the house. As Robert opened the door, "you gonna be alright kid?"

John nodded, but was afraid speaking might ruin the stand still effect of the world. They walked inside, Rob holding the door for John. And out of the living room came a whirlwind of energy and a wreak of gin. "Robert what the hell are you thinking bringing this… this criminal into our house? Claire is in enough trouble without you encouraging her. She has destroyed her reputation, and where the fuck is that boy…. That nothing… Robert are you even fucking listening to me?" With that she smashed her now empty glass to the floor. John was following the instructions he was given, he ignored the woman who kind of resembled Claire in a twisted way, and he was making his way slowly up the stairs to Claire.

Mrs. Standish moved to run after him, Rob grabbed her around the middle. "Look Karen, John is Claire's boyfriend. Trying to pull them apart will do nothing but drive Claire away. You are drunk and need to calm down."

She screamed at him, "You just want Claire to like you! You don't give a shit about her! You don't discipline her at all!"

Robert sighed, "Smacking her, denigrating her, and putting her down are not punishments, they are abuse. Now get the fuck out of my face." He yelled, "Rose! I need some help out here."

John reached Claire's door, there was music playing inside, he didn't knock just opened the door and walked in. Claire was lying on her bed crying. He didn't know why, but his stomach did flip flops, and it wasn't the world spinning. Nothing should make her cry. He walked over to the bed and sat down behind her, and gently stroked her hair. "What's wrong princess?"

Claire was shocked and overjoyed to hear John Bender's voice. She flipped herself over and wrapped herself around him, "nothing now."

"Awe, did you miss me that much cherry? How about you move over, I think I would really like to lie down with you. OK?

Claire sat up and moved over, but got a good look at John in the process, "Oh God John! What happened?" She touched his head where there was now a big knot, and she ran her cool fingers over the bruises encircling his neck.

John laid back very carefully, "come here and I'll tell you all about my day."

Claire laid down with her head on John's chest, "you can tell me about yours to distract me from mine."

"You know, you never did answer me. Why were you crying when I came in?" Claire shook her head slowly, "it doesn't matter."

John pulled her back down to his chest and stroked her hair, "It matters to me Princess. Don't you get that? That said, I'll go first cause I don't know if my fuckin voice will hold out. I think Tom Strickler might actually be suspended now. That motherfucker walked into Sarah's fucking class like it was nothing. I thought she was gonna have a fucking panic attack. Nah, instead she went to the office and raised hell. Apparently, she now has full time police protection. Cop's been following her around, and well me too I guess. I was actually on my way to call you when Strickler picked me up like I weighed nothing, by my neck," he pointed to the bruises. I think he was trying to strangle me and you know how fucking big the jackass is. Well Jameson, the cop who's been following Sarah plucked him off of me, and cuffed him. It was lovely.

Anyway, well I planned on a little graffiti action – you know kind of a smear campaign against the bitch who hurt you. I didn't even have to spread the message. Told Andy, Brian, and Spaz….. and like it's fucking everywhere. I guess I had kind of a meltdown cause I was laughing to hard. Someone spray painted Strickler, and Rodger's lockers" John smirked.

Claire looked up into his eyes.. "well what did they say? Don't keep me in suspense."

John looked down at her and kissed her gently. " Sorry, I got distracted cause I realized I hadn't kissed you in like forever… so how about another.. "

Claire smacked his chest lightly, "not till you tell me what the lockers said!"

John chuckled, "One says whore in great big red letters, the other says rapist in blue. Now can I have that kiss?"

Claire pulled herself up to kiss him, and they spent several minutes in that position. Till there was a knock on the door, Claire reluctantly pulled up and away from John. "Who is it?"

"It's me," Claire's father said. "Can I come in?"

"Of course Daddy," Claire laid her head on John's chest where it's been before they started making out.

Rob Standish walked into his daughter's room; he was happy to see both kids were at least dressed and mostly in a decent position. Though if he was logical, neither kid was in any shape to take things too father which is why he was OK with them being together in Claire's room. "I asked Rose to bring you two up something to eat. I'm sorry, but I have to go into the office for a while. Your mother is pissed that John is here so lock your door when I leave and only let Rose in. I'm really sorry I have to leave you alone with her."

Claire shook her head, "I know she's been bad lately and thank you for everything Daddy. I'll see you this evening." Robert walked over and kissed the top of Claire's head. "I hope to be home for dinner." And he walked out of the room without another word.

John looked down at Claire, "Want I should go lock your door like your Dad wants?"

Claire climbed off John, walked over to the door and locked it. She walked back, but hadn't gotten as far at the bed when there was a knock. "It's me, Rose, Miss Claire I have lunch for you and your boy." Claire walked back and opened the door. Rose, a little Hispanic woman had a huge platter that she set on the table near a large couch which sat in front of the TV. "I put some extra drinks there for you. You need anything else Miss Claire? Mr. John?"

Claire said, "No, thank you Rose. I think we'll just watch tv or sleep. Thank you for preparing lunch." Rose smiled at Claire and bustled out of the room. Claire followed her, closed and locked the door. Then she walked back to John and settled herself against him. "Now I feel better."

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	27. Chapter 27

John and Claire laid on her bed and talked for a while. Claire's mother had been a bitch all day. Treating her daughter much like the popular girls at school had; her mom, Karen, had apparently smacked Claire for ruining her reputation. John wasn't sure if it had been last night or this morning; he was too wrapped up in trying not to lose his temper. Other than the few altercations with her mom things had been pretty quiet for Claire. Claire was lying with her head on John's shoulder he thought he wanted a cigarette, but moving from his present position just wasn't worth it; his broken hand was being propped up by several pillows, and Claire had pulled a quilt over them, before long they fell asleep.

A couple of hours later they were awakened by a pounding on her door. "Answer the door, you whore! You cannot lock me, your mother, out of your room. You shouldn't even have your door closed while you have a boy in there! Open this god damned door. You've ruined everything you know, it's your fault your father is acting the way he is. No, now you won't go on dates with normal guys, no not Claire, she only dates losers."

Claire started to get up off the bed; she had tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry you have to hear that stuff, you know I don't feel that way, right?" John grabbed her arm, "Where ya goin Cherry?" His voice was really deep, but soft and gravelly too. Claire gave him worried look and brushed the hair away from his face. She smiled at him, but it was a sad smile, "I was just going to turn some music on, something to, you know… drown out the noise." John let her go, because he knew exactly what she meant. "Got anything decent?"

Claire stuck her tongue out at him, "Depends on what you think is decent, I suppose uh… I don't think I have anything that would classify as metal though."

"That's fine cherry, I wouldn't expect it of you. Decent Rock is" John was interrupted by Claire, "What about Def Leppard?"

He nodded, "that's just fine, better even. Want to see what Rose left us for food?"

Claire smiled," sounds good, we could watch a movie or something instead of music. If we're gonna eat that is." John slowly made his way over to the couch, he pulled the giant cover off of the platter of sandwiches, chips, crackers, cheese, mixed fruit, bottles of water, and cans of coke and diet coke. "How many people did she think we were gonna be feeding this afternoon?"

Claire laughed, "Rose didn't know what you would like, and well she likes you, so she wanted to be sure there was something both you and I would like."

They were interrupted by the door being pounded on, "Open the door Claire, open it right fucking now. Do you have any idea what you've done? I just got a call from Sandy who heard from Steph's mother that Tommy was arrested. Are you trying to trash anyone with potential? What is your problem?" John got very tense, his left hand was clenching and unclenching.

Claire put her hand over his fist and kissed his cheek. "Ignore her sweetheart, that's what I have learned to do. Since my Dad has been so nice, she's apparently tried for a different tactic. She's drunk. You know what you said that Saturday about my drunk mother, well, here is a firsthand introduction." She got quieter and sadder as she went on.

"Fuck Princess, I was out of line, and I thought we covered all of that." John said as he reached over and grabbed Claire's hand.

She shook her head, "no, you were right on the mark, a little too close really. It's why my dad has had me practically under house arrest in my room since I got home. Apparently, aside from fucking the pool boy, she has been drinking non-stop for a couple of days now."

John pulled Claire down against him, "Look beautiful, I am pretty sure that no one's life is perfect. We can't possibly get more fucked up than mine, right? So let's just do what we can to muddle through. I'll be eighteen soon enough, and well I am gonna get an apartment, then you'll have someplace to escape to."

Claire kissed the bruises on John's neck. "I am so sorry you got hurt again."

John leaned down and grabbed a coke for himself and a diet coke for Claire, as well as a sandwich for himself. "Cherry, I've been hurt off and on my whole life, this is just a really shitty week, but ya know, I'm locked in a room with the hottest chick at Shermer. Who am I to complain?" He leaned over and kissed her chest just above the shirt line and waggled his eyebrows at her.

She giggled and called him a sex fiend. They bantered back and forth while they ate. Afterwards, neither was feeling very well, so they went back to Claire's bed for an afternoon nap. John stretched out on his side with his casted hand propped up by pillows again. "I've done nothing but lie around for days now, how come I'm still feeling shitty? This really sucks." Claire agreed with him, but it was more that aside from getting to spend time together, which was a huge bonus, the whole injury situation sucked a lot.

Claire went into the bathroom attached to her room and changed into a pair of leggings and a t-shirt she'd stolen from John. She wondered what he would think. As she opened the door the look on his face was worth her worry about the shirt. She smiled shyly, came over to the bed, made him move so she could get some covers, and laid down facing him, "so, do you like my new shirt?" She did her best to bury her face while not hurting either one of them.

John had nearly fallen asleep when the bathroom door opened and his princess was wearing one of his t-shirts and well he thought they might be pants, but he wasn't sure. Wait, didn't she wear shit like that under her skirts? He was pretty sure his jaw was slack and he looked like a fucking moron, but god damn, even looking like she'd lost a boxing match she was hot. He smirked at her, "Yeah Cherry I love the shirt, and I'm not getting it back am I?"

Claire shook her head and smiled, looking up at him. John kissed her forehead, and her bruised eyes, her cheeks and then her mouth, all with a gentleness she didn't know he even possessed. It made her feel like she was melting from the inside out. When he finally reached her mouth she kissed him back with every ounce of love and passion she could pour into the kiss. When they broke apart, mainly for air, they smiled at one another and relaxed into each other's embrace. Claire gently ran her fingers through his hair smoothing it back, and ran her fingers over his face, "How is it that I missed you all these years? When I am with you I feel, I don't know… safe and yet well… kind of on the edge of danger."

He chuckled, grabbed her hand and kissed each of her fingers. "I don't know princess, cause we come from two really different fuckin worlds? Course, mine's all kinds of blown up now so I'm fair game." He grinned, and Claire felt like her insides were melting and one fire at the same time. "Sadly, I think we might have to wait till we heal just a little for me to really show you just how game I am. Well I suppose you can feel it. He smirked at her then commented, "did you even wash that thing?"

Claire laughed, "I totally deserved that remark, and no." Claire turned bright red, which John thought was cute as hell, and asked, "uhm, I….I uh… well did I make you uncomfortable? I mean… like… do you want me to try and fix the uh….. problem… uh like I caused?"

John was totally confused for a moment, then he chuckled and kissed Claire's forehead, right above her broken, bandaged nose. "I'm fine princess. Now don't get me wrong, I am probably gonna kill myself or someone else cause I said this, but baby we got time. I mean I'm pretty sure we both have concussions so maybe I can just chalk all this gentlemanly bullshit up to brain trauma, I think I might just want to sleep for a while cuddled up with you in my arms." And that's just what they did; they fell asleep resting in one another's arms, feeling safe and secure in their own little world.

Meanwhile back at Shermer High, Jameson had left Tommy Strickler handcuffed and waiting for pick up, he was no longer allowed on school premises. The principal and the school board were overruled by the Chief of Police. Principal Anderson was on the phone trying to appease an angry Jason Strickler when his wife walked in, just as pissed off as her husband.

"Why is he handcuffed? This is completely unfair. Not only is he a minor, but this has to be police brutality!" One of the secretaries called Officer Jameson to the front office so he could explain. Jameson walked into the office in minutes. She immediately started her tirade, "Are you the sonofabitch who handcuffed my son, who has a clean record, and is a star quarterback, to a chair in the office like a common criminal?"

Jameson listened to her, "Are you finished? Cause when you shut the hell up for a minute I will explain."

Mrs. Strickler gave him a very dirty look, but motioned for him to continue.

"I found your son trying to strangle another student, holding him off the ground with both hands wrapped tightly around his throat. That is assault in anyone's book, so I arrested him. You may feel free to follow him down to the station, but he is going to the station to be booked on an assault charge. You can scream and bitch all you want, but I saw the assault and I did my job. If you would prefer a different outcome I suggest you teach your son not to be a violent dumbass. Do you have any other questions?"

Mrs. Strickler was dumbstruck, something that rarely happened. She sat down next to Tommy. "I promise we'll work this all out sweetheart."

Adam was considering just how many headaches the Strickler's could cause this week; he was beginning to wonder just how many assaults one family would commit in less than a week. He was tired, tired of the dumbass assaults and well, he was beginning to wonder just how stupid the Strickler men were. Maybe he should have a conversation with the coach of the football team, or maybe he should just leave it for the lawyers to sort out.

Adam shook himself, picked up the phone and called Rob Standish. After several rings Robert Standish answered the phone. "hello?"

Chief Jones started talking, "Evening Standish, have a drink with me. Let's meet someplace which will force us out of the god damned office. And well, I need a friend. Excellent, Miner's pub on South, yeah I know the place. Didn't know you'd be into that kind of place. Yeah, yeah, working on a change, got it. Alright, see you in fifteen or twenty, alright 30 minutes. If you're late you have to take a handicap next Saturday."

Thirty minutes later Robert Standish walked into the small place which tried to be a replica of an English Pub, and yet it was really a combination of white and blue collar workers who were having a drink with friends before heading home. He scanned the room and found Adam sitting at a table near the back exit, with a view of the entire room. He walked back towards him, "already started without me?" Robert ribbed his old friend.

Robert ordered a black and Tan and got comfortable. "I can't stay long; I need to get home."

Adam arched a brow, "since when are you in a rush to get home? Normally that's my line, if I get home after dinner my wife is gonna have my balls. What's your excuse?"

"Got a phone call from Sarah Dearing this afternoon; it seems that Tom Strickler tried to strangle John in the hallway at school. This was not long after he cracked his skull by passing out. So he's at my place convalescing with Claire. Karen's been drinking all day; hell, I think she was drunk before I left for the office. John was pretty out of it, probably should have gotten to a hospital but I think he was afraid they'd make him stay." Robert shook his head, took a deep drink of his beer and continued, "How the fuck did my life change so radically?"

Adam took a drink of his own, "You really need to just divorce that drunken bitch. Your life has been fucked up for years now, I think for some reason you are able to see it in a way you hadn't before. The Bender kid said he wanted to talk to you before giving me an answer on what he wanted to do about his folks. "

Robert nodded, "He's under Sarah's guardianship, right?"

Adam responded, "Far as I know. That's court stuff; I try to keep as far away from it as possible. I got a call from the morgue, they need the space. Is he gonna do what his mother asked in the letter?"

Robert arched a brow, "don't know what his mother said, not sure I want to know why you do, but I think he wants them cremated. If you know what's in the letter you know the kid's got some money. I am going to help him invest a pretty good portion of it too."

Adam looked into his half empty glass for a moment, "That kid has had a seriously fucked up life, and if what I read from Talmand is correct, he's been a target at school as well as at home. It's no wonder he's wound tight as a spring. Are you sure he's good for Clairey?"

Robert took another deep drink and shrugged, "I certainly hope so. I don't think there is any way to reasonably separate them now; trying would succeed in pushing Claire away. Now I can't say I was thrilled by the idea, well except that Karen hates him, but that's another story. Anyway, over the past few days the kid has been through some really rough stuff. I think he needs reasonable adults on his side more than ever, especially if there is any chance of saving him. Plus, with him in her life, Claire has started looking at the world from a different perspective. I mean come on, I've never been home enough to teach her anything, and Karen is a vapid sycophant."

"Nice commentary to make about your wife dude, not that I disagree mind you. You just knew that before you married her and well, what's the new vision in you about?" Adam asked and finished his beer.

"I didn't say anything I haven't said to her face, she just doesn't fucking get it. But I don't know, maybe it's all the things which have happened, maybe it's seeing my little girl feel safer in someone else's arms, maybe it's the twisted bastard Jason has become, fuck I don't know. But Claire and John are right it feels like the world has tilted on its axis or something. You know, you invited me here, but I've done all the talking. What's up?"

"Tom Strickler is in custody again. He was briefly in custody after the incident with Sarah Dearing, but he got essentially fined for it. Our great fucking legal system. Maybe I need to make sure they get a judge Jason doesn't have a debt with or dirt on, but seeing just how arrogant the little shit was made me want a drink and I don't like to drink alone. Besides I am feeling sorry for our nightshift, they are gonna have to deal with his parents." Adam said, as he got up and put his coat on.

"Out of here already?" Standish asked, but began putting his own jacket back on.

Adam nodded, "remember what I said about Dinner. And look into a damn divorce lawyer man, otherwise that bitch is going to tear you or Clairy to shreds."


	28. Chapter 28

Note: updates will be slow for the next little while, end of school term madness is ensuing - so I just won't have as much time to write. I promise to get them done as soon as I can. The charater's wont let me sleep if I don't let them have their say. I hope you like this chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own much of anything, especially not John Hughes amazing characters... I just like to play with them.

Robert Standish and Adam Jones left the pub at the same time. They got into their cars and each drove home. Home was a very different place for each man. Adam kissed his wife, Lauren, and they sat down at the table each with a fresh cup of decaf coffee. Lauren asked, "How was your day?"

Adam shook his head a little, "to begin with apparently Tom Strickler was never suspended. Well until today, I had another little chat with Principal Anderson. He whined some more about pressure from Jason Strickler and the school board. I told him to shove it up his ass and suspend the kid or I would put permanent cops in to make sure Shermer High was a safe place for students." He laughed and took a drink of his coffee. "Anyway, there was another incident between Strickler and Bender; the kid apparently tried to strangle Bender in the fucking hallway at school. It's a damn good thing I put that cop in place or the kid might be in the hospital again. Hell, that's probably where he should be, but Rob told me he's convalescing with Claire."

Lauren raised an eyebrow, "You're telling me John Bender, son of recently dead asshole Joe Bender is home alone with Claire Standish? With her father's approval? Damn, maybe Karen really hates the boy and so Rob is being the good parent."

Adam laughed, "remember the file and kid I was talking about the other day?"

Lauren nodded, took a sip of her drink, and went to the oven to check on dinner. "I'm still listening hon."

Adam smirked a little, "I know, I was just a little distracted by you bending over and all." Lauren stood up and threw a towel at him, "You are a dirty old man Adam Jones," She said with a giant grin on her face.

He stood up and kissed her, "Yeah, that's why you like me. The kid I was talking about was John Bender."

The return home for Robert Standish was not nearly so pleasant. His house was much larger, and there was a manicured lawn. It looked like the perfect home for the rich and happy. He sat in his car for a moment, wishing he'd had another drink, but he knew he had to go inside and relieve Rose. He'd asked her to stay late so Claire wasn't left with just Karen.

He got out of the car, walked into a mostly quiet house, made his way to the kitchen where the mentioned Rose was helping their cook make supper. "Evening folks; thank you for staying Rose. Do you need a ride home?" She took off her apron as she shook her head no. "Thank you Mr. Standish, but I am happy to catch the bus. Last I saw, Mrs. Standish was asleep in her room. She told me she needed a Valium because her daughter was… well she called Miss Claire several bad names that I don't wish to repeat. Miss Claire and John are, I believe sound asleep. I made sure they ate too." She handed the key to Claire's room to Mr. Standish. "I promise I haven't let Mrs. Standish near her. I am pretty sure Claire's boy John would lose his temper for sure if he had to face her."

"I can't thank you enough Rose."

She grinned at him: he'd seemed much more down to earth these last few weeks, "Sure you can, just make sure the extra hours are on my paycheck." Robert laughed, "done and done. Have a good evening."

Robert turned to Scott, the cook he'd hired about a month back, finally tired of Karen's terrible attempts at cooking. "So what do we have here?"

Scott gave him the rundown of what he'd cooked for supper and the start of several other meals. Robert grabbed a green bean from a pane and thanked him. He had been feeling more something, he couldn't really explain it; but somehow he was more real lately. He climbed the steps taking them two at a time maybe younger was what he was looking for. When he reached Claire's door he knocked. When he received no answer, he used the key to open the door. What he saw made him sigh, Claire was pretty much wrapped around her boyfriend, and John was holding on to her like a prized possession.

He debated waking them, then deciding against it; he closed the door quietly. The initial turning of the handle had awakened John, but he felt warm, and disinclined to move from the position he was in. Since there was neither bustling about, nor screaming, John surmised it was Robert. He was a little surprised he'd chosen to leave them sleeping, but sleep took him again as soon as he heard the click of the door relocking.

He opened the door to his bedroom, his wife Karen was laying on her side with a black, satin eye mask over her eyes. There was a glass next to her, which when he picked it up smelled of gin and tonic. He sighed quietly and walked to his closet. Quickly changing out of his suit, he put on a pair of jeans and a polo shirt. He walked out of the bedroom and said a silent prayer that she was neither dead nor that she would wake up before morning. He really was in no mood to deal with her.

Walking down to his office, he picked up the phone to call Sarah Dearing. She answered on the second ring, "Hello?"

Just her voice made him smile a little, but there was nothing improper about it, he simply liked the woman. "Evening Sarah, it's me Robert. I heard you had a fairly eventful day."

She laughed, and answered, "that's one way of looking at it, I suppose. How's John doing?"

Robert leaned back in his leather office chair, "He appeared to be sleeping peacefully with my daughter in his arms. Now I am sure that statement should bother me. I'm even mildly concerned that it doesn't. Anyway, I know you can't drive, but I could have someone pick you up. You can have dinner with us tonight, take John home with you. I am pretty sure he'd stay if he could. And because the sheer number of injuries he's sustained lately, well if you want to leave him here where there is a staff of people I'd be willing. I am worried about you alone though."

Sarah sighed, "I don't know Robert. A part of me wants to say fine, and hell I'll stay with your staff too, but I am absolutely certain I do not want to meet your wife. Sorry. Well, not really, but it was the polite thing to say." She chuckled.

"Well if I can't talk you into coming over, when do you want me to send John home? I'll send him home in a car, if I don't and you want him home he's likely to try walking. He was in pretty bad shape when he arrived here Sarah. I am worried; I won't be letting Claire out without an escort till I know she is safe from assault. Do you know if it's even safe for her to return to school on Monday?"

Robert and Sarah talked about the kids, the school, his work, and a variety of other topics for about 45 minutes, at which point he looked up to see his wife standing at the door. "So I'll get John home sometime after dinner. I'll talk to you later.. Bye."

"What whore were you talking to now?" Karen said viciously.

Robert sighed, "hello Karen, how was your day?"

His calmness was not going to appease her, "Not even going to answer me are you. Adultery is grounds for divorce you know!"

He stood up, "Yes, I know. Thanks for the information, I hope you and Ralph, the pool guy, have a great fucking life. I'm not an idiot Karen." He followed her to the kitchen, "can we have one pleasant evening, please?"

She sneered at him, polished off her drink, opened the fridge and pulled out a bottle of Vodka. "Maybe if you tell me what whore you were talking to."

Robert rolled his eyes and wondered if he'd ever liked this woman, "how much did you hear? The part where we were talking about the school board? When we were discussing literature? Or did you hear the part where we were discussing the kids injuries? Why must every person I speak to be a whore to you? I was talking to John's guardian, and Claire's English teacher, you know the one who was brutalized by the star quarter back on Friday. You do remember don't you?"

She took a drink, "she's just after your money."

Robert shook his head and decided commenting would only further this discussion. "Have you checked on Claire today?"

Karen put a manicured hand on her hip, "How could I she locked her damn room. When did she get a lock on her room Robert? And I believe that delinquent Bender is up there with her. He's probably raped her and escaped by now."

Robert put his hand on his forehead, "maybe dinner is a bad idea." He muttered, mostly to himself.

"What about dinner?"

"I had hoped we could sit at the table like a civilized family, but I believe you are too drunk, so never mind." Robert snapped.

Karen downed the two fingers of vodka she'd poured and threw her glass at Robert. "You are a mean, miserable bastard to talk to me like that!" She screamed at him, grabbed the bottle and exited the room as though she was the lead character in a drama. Robert went and got the broom, swept up the glass, cleaned the area where she had spilled booze, and thanked the cook for not quitting.

Scott, the cook, laughed, "Since you started acting like a normal down to earth person instead of a male version of her, pardon me for saying so, but well, it's been a pretty decent gig. Mr. Standish, until about a week ago I don't think you ever referred to me by name. However, I am paid well and I get to cook pretty much anything I want so long as it's edible. I find myself liking you Mr. Standish, and that's something damn few of my colleagues can say. Most personal cooks deal with bit… I mean…"

Robert raised a hand, he was also leaning against the kitchen island, honestly interested in what his employee had to say, "really, call a spade a spade, Karen is a bitch no need to beat around the bush."

"Alright then, most personal cooks deal with bitches and worse. At least I'm not good looking enough for her to make a pass at me, and well you all like the food I cook, so there isn't a lot of whining at me to do this or make that. I do a great job of making sushi for Claire's lunch, so she thinks I'm terrific. My life here isn't bad. Oh, and dinner is ready in about ten, where do you want me to set it up?"

Rob half smiled, "you over heard her highness; I'm sure as hell not putting up with her over supper. Let me check and see if the kids are feeling up to having dinner down here, and I'll let you know." He walked up the stairs to Claire's room again, this time knocking fairly loudly on the door.

Claire sleepily called out, "who is it?"

"It's me Claire; I'm home from the office. Can I come in?"

She rolled over, inadvertently knocked John's hand. He woke up with a "Fuck, ow!"

"I'm sorry babe, are you ok?" Claire asked suddenly very worried she'd hurt him badly.

"Breathe Cherry, my hand got bumped, and I think it's time I took some painkillers." He had very little voice and what was audible was almost growly. Claire was up, about to open the door for her Dad, when he opened the door and walked in.

He arched a brow at her outfit, though once he thought about it he supposed the t-shirt was a long as some of her skirts. He kissed the top of her head, "How are you feeling Angel?"

Claire went and sat back down on her bed; John thought about getting up, but decided he had no desire to move, every part of him hurt. He managed to get himself sitting up, but not without wincing and a lot of gritting of teeth. Fuck, just sitting up hurt, and his throat was throbbing. "How about you John? Feeling any better?"

He shook his head, "I feel like a fucking truck hit me. And apparently I have no voice."

Robert thought about it for a minute, "Scott might know something, but I remember my grandmother saying something about honey and lemon in tea. Are you guys up to eating dinner downstairs in the dining room? If not, we can eat in the living room; if you don't mind my company that is."

"If you have something that will make my throat stop hurting I'm certainly willing to try drinking it." John kind of growled out, he looked very irritated by the lack of voice.

"Of course we don't mind your company Daddy; I'm just not sure John is feeling up to moving anywhere. If it's just us, could we eat in here?" Robert shrugged, there was something in him that said it was bad breeding to eat in the bedroom, but he figured both kids had been through enough to be allowed to eat where they wanted right now.

"I don't see why not. Let me go let Scott know to bring plates for us up here." Claire grinned, "I didn't know you knew the cook's name Daddy? Let alone Rose's."

"Well I've had a lot to think about lately. You know, let's talk about it over supper. I'll be back shortly." He left the room. Claire walked back to her bed and stroked John's chest. "You don't look ok, where's your medicine? I'll get it for you."

"My coat pocket," it sounded like whisper. "Fuck cherry, I do feel like total crap. Even when my… Joe… beat the crap out of me, I don't think I felt this shitty."

Claire pushed his hair away from his face, and got a concerned look on her face. "John, sweetheart, I think you're going to hate me, but I think you might need to go back to the hospital. You're really warm."

He gave her a look, "I am fine."

"If I promise to make it worth your while would you let me take your temperature?"

John smirked, "your old man will be back too soon for you to make it worth my while sweetheart."

She kissed his forehead and whispered that he was a pig in his ear, but then kissed his neck and quickly squirmed away. She returned only moments later with a thermometer, "you know the drill, under your tongue."

He did as she asked, then winked at her mouthed the words, "Yes nurse."

As Robert walked downstairs, something was niggling at the back of his mind, John didn't look good. He went into the kitchen to find his wife yelling at the cook who had stopped plating meals so he could give her his full attention, apparently she'd already screamed about that.

"What is your problem now Karen?" Robert asked exasperated.

"I came down here to get more to drink and this poor excuse for a cook was finishing up sautéed steak, you know I am trying to cut down on the amount of meat we eat!"

"For Christ sake Karen, who knew you planned on eating actual food rather than your normal liquid diet. I asked him to make steak; I thought the kids could use the protein with all the abuse they dealt with lately. Oh, Scott, please make up 3 plates, I'm going to eat upstairs with the kids and John's not up to a lot right now."

"I can't believe you," Karen screamed. "you are treating that nothing, that… that … nobody like he's a part of our family. I won't stand for it! I am sure he is the reason for Claire's terrible behavior lately, getting into fights, acting like a tease towards older men!"

Robert stared at her for a moment. Then in a deceptively calm voice he said, "I cannot believe those words just came out of your mouth. Are you seriously blaming our daughter for getting hurt?"

Karen crossed her arms in front of her, "If she hadn't been hanging around those… those hooligans, she never would have been in a place to get hurt."

Robert leaned his hip against the island, and clicked record on the new mini recorder he had for giving dictation; "Ok, so are you upset that she helped to save a teacher? Went to visit her? Or told kids at school the truth rather than a lie about what happened to Miss Dearing?"

Karen stomped her high heeled slipper, "you are twisting my words damnit."

"I'm just trying to figure out why you are behaving like such a bitch to Claire. She and her friends saved a teacher from being further beaten and raped and you have been acting like she's the damn anti-christ. What's really your damn problem."

"She is ruining not just her reputation, but that of her family. We're going to be the pariah's next, and if you don't stop coddling her she's never going to learn. She never should have been near that poor excuse for a teacher anyway."

At that Robert stood up, turned off the recording, and restrained himself from smacking her. "You know, I think the stress here is just too much for you. You have a couple of choices, you can go to the flat in New York, or you can find someplace else to be, but I am no longer sharing this house with you. You have no idea what you are talking about, and I am tired of being tied to a vapid, irresponsible bitch. Get. out." He picked up the tray that Scott finished putting together while trying to ignore his bosses fighting.

"I'm eating dinner with Claire and John upstairs; I really don't give a fuck what you do, so long as I do not have to see you or speak to you again." He carried the tray out of the kitchen and saw John and Claire on the landing of the stairs.

Claire said, "We were trying to make it to the living room, but I had kind of a dizzy spell, and then I heard you and… and Mom." John used his left hand to grab hers and squeezed it a bit.

John said, "Let's let your Dad go first, the tray doesn't look easy to balance, and I'll get you settled upstairs." He didn't know quite what to make of the whole fight they'd overheard, but it made Claire stop dead and begin to shake a little. John was helping Claire up the stairs when from the bottom he heard, "It's all your fault you know. Every bit of it. If you hadn't been so stuck on being around losers you would have been at the damn mall or someplace appropriate, not the back of the school. And you…" she pointed at John, You… are just the kind of loser who will drag her down. Just like Robert did…" She finished off whatever she was drinking.

Claire stopped and turned slowly but stayed within the general circle of his harms, John saw her mother sneer at her daughter's injuries and put a tight clamp on both his temper and his mouth, at least until after Claire had her say. Claire looked down at the woman standing at the base of the steps, twisted the emerald around her finger, and leaned back against her boyfriend just a little, as though needing the self assurance. "You are an arrogant, stupid woman. I hope Daddy really goes through with it and divorces you. Cause I know it's Daddy who has all the money and between your drinking, your need for social approval, and your affairs I'll make sure you get nothing. See how much your so called friends like you then." John decided Claire didn't need any help from him, and well he couldn't have come close to as cruel as his Princess was. She walked up the stairs looking all kinds of regal, moving a little slowly, and letting him keep his hand on her back. When they reached the top of the steps, he nuzzled her neck a little and whispered. "Nice words back there, Princess. I think I am proud of you."

She smiled at him and laughed, he was proud of her for telling her drunken mother off. Man did she have a strange boyfriend. The two of them got settled on the couch while her father sat in one of the over stuffed chairs as they ate dinner. John wolfed his down and asked if there was more. Robert laughed, "Yep, but you have to brave the downstairs to get it. I sent Scott home once he finished with dinner." John put his plate on the tray they were brought up on. "You know, I don't think I'm that hungry." Everybody laughed, the three of them enjoyed each other's company – Robert told stories of when he was young, John countered with a few escapades of his own, and Claire really just laughed.

As the evening grew later, Robert had a car called to take John home. Claire told him, "remember you had a bit of temperature earlier; you promised you'd tell Sarah." Robert was a bit surprised and worried at this news, but he kept his mouth shut.

"Fuckin come on Princess, I only said that to make you stop nagging me. Really, I am fine. If we're really good maybe you can come over to my place to convalesce tomorrow. I'm sure as hell not going in. I still feel pretty crappy, but then if I get to come back over here neither of us have to suffer through my cooking skills." He let her wrap herself around him and hold on. He didn't even mind that it hurt his ribs; somehow this fiery princess had wormed her way into his being and he didn't know what he'd do without her. He put his head down on top of hers. "We're gonna see each other tomorrow, and for once I am actually sort of looking forward to going home. I want to see how the rest of Sarah's day went."

Claire breathed him in. How was it that this boy, who everyone thought of as a juvenile delinquent made her feel safe, secure, and more loved than she had in her whole life. She wished her face didn't look so battered she wanted to be pretty for him. John kissed the top of her head. "Alright Cherry, you've gotta let me go." He smiled when she pouted at him, but let him go as he asked. Claire said, "I'm gonna climb back into bed or I'll never let you leave."

John tucked her into bed after her father left the room, he also thoroughly kissed her, or as well as their various injuries allowed. He kissed her neck and the top of her breasts. "giving myself something good to dream about." He winked at her and sauntered out of the room. She had to work to stop herself from squeeling at how John made her feel, and he liked her too… it was amazing. She could block out all the bad stuff in her life by thinking about John and how he made her feel.

John arrived at Sarah's, he got out of the Mercedes driven by the same guy, George, who'd driven them from the hospital. John shook his hand and thanked him for the ride. He looked at the well cared for, but obviously not professionally manicured lawn, and small flowered hedges, the lack of trash in the yard, and he felt out of place again. He had no good reason not to go in, and he still felt pretty shitty. As he opened the door and came in he noticed how clean and good smelling the place was.

Sarah hollered at him from the living room, "Welcome home John. There's some decaf coffee brewed, would you get me a cup if you are getting yourself one? Then come join me for a few minutes." He walked in to the kitchen, with a pit stop in the living room to grab Sarah's cup. He made a couple of cups of coffee, it was kind of nice, there was almost always some kind of coffee brewing here.

He came into the living room, handed Sarah her cup of coffee, and sat down with a cup of his own. It was about 10pm. She looked up from some paperwork and smiled at John. "How are you feeling?"

"To be honest, I feel pretty shitty." His voice was almost absent and sounded very growly. "I'm more interested in how you are? How did the rest of your day go?" Sarah chuckled," I have a little story to tell you about that, but I need a little more than you are feeling shitty"

John shrugged. "Tell me your story first, then I'll let you know what's up with me, and I'll hit the sack – ok?"

Sarah nodded, "I'm willing to go with that compromise." She took a drink of her coffee, rearranged her paperwork, and appeared to re-situate to keep herself comfortable. "The rest of the day seemed pretty quiet after you left. A bunch of your friends, including Andy, Allison, Spaz, and several guys who aren't in my classes came with him all came to find out if you were doing ok. I promised I'd bring word for them tomorrow. In a similar note, I got called down to Vernon's office. Well Anderson's office with Vernon sitting there."

John sat up and started to frown. Sarah held out her hand to stop John from interrupting her. "I am supposed to ask you if you would be willing to talk to Vernon. Now, let me tell you what happened in Principal Anderson's office. I was offered a profuse apology for the 'mishandling'" she even used the rabbit ear quotes, "of the situation. They both swore they had no idea there was any physical danger to anyone." John rolled his eyes, and Sarah nodded, "yeah I know it's crap. However, the school board is now working on expelling Strickler. While the bitchy girl got a minimal suspension, she is on academic watch – any step out of line from the rules and she'll be expelled too. Apparently, the school board head, and Anderson got calls from a lawyer representing us, and by us, I mean you, Claire, and I. Now, I didn't know what it was about – but I played along. They were all kinds of sorry. You have no further Saturday detentions, and Anderson said Vernon had to offer you an apology, and if you wanted it to be in front of the school in the damned auditorium, you were owed it." Sarah grinned. "You got your wish; Vernon is in pretty hot water over this. Now, the most interesting thing is what happened after the official meeting."

John downed his coffee, the heat had helped his throat feel a little better, "gonna keep me waiting or what?"

Sarah finished her cup as well before she started again, "Well Vernon pulled me aside and asked very seriously if you were ok. He said and I quote, "I've been a real ass where Bender is concerned, he just gets under my skin." She chuckled again, "he was really worried about you. Apparently either your little laughter meltdown, or Jameson's shaking the hell out of him did something. Now I'm done. Well except to tell me that Claire called before you arrived, and told me to check your temperature. Apparently she didn't think you'd tell me."

John started laughing, "gods she's a fuckin pain in the ass, but I just can't help but keep her near me, as long as she lets me." He kind of hobbled, his limp pretty pronounced, towards his room "I'm hitting the hay, I feel real shitty. If you want to take my temperature you'll have to do it while I'm lying down."

Please please read and review


	29. Chapter 29

Ok, so these characters just won't leave me be. I hope you like this update - and it's likely more will be coming. I do it around grading...

John's was pretty much asleep before his head hit the pillow. A couple of hours later, having caught up on a lot of paperwork Sarah stopped into John's room. The fact that he didn't wake up to either her knock or entering concerned her a little, but she approached the bed carefully. "John. John sweetie, wake up." Nothing. She took a chance and reached out to shake him, still no response. Sarah reminded herself that panic wouldn't help anyone. She laid her wrist on his forehead; he was burning up. She went to her medicine cabinet to retrieve a thermometer. She'd left John's door open, when she returned she put the thermometer in his mouth, and began to get intensely worried because he was still unresponsive. After a minute she pulled the thermometer, it read… 104. Fuck!

She moved as quickly as she could to make phone calls. He needed help and she was not able to do anything. It was close to midnight, should she call Rob and Claire? She dialed 911, after explaining the list of traumas between the two of them, it was agreed an ambulance would be sent to her address as quickly as possible. After hanging up with 911, she dialed the Standish residence. A sleepy sounding Robert answered the phone, "Hello? What time is it?"

Sarah answered, "uh, it's ten minutes to midnight, this is Sarah Dearing…"

Robert immediately reacted to her tone waking up very quickly; he'd fallen asleep in front of the television on the couch, "What's wrong Sarah?"

Suddenly there were tears in her eyes, damnit she shouldn't have called, his caring tone was her undoing. "Well I need to know if John was ok when he left your place. There is an ambulance on the way here… he has a fever of 104, and is completely unresponsive. Do you know if he took something? His medications were on the table… I just.. fuck. I am sorry I called Robert." She tried pulling herself together. "I have to get ready to meet the ambulance, and I am not yet dressed. I just… I don't know…"

Robert wasn't quite sure what to make of her right now besides the fact that she sounded panicked. "I will have to ask Claire about today, but he was a little pale and mentioned not feeling well before he left. Would you like me to meet you at the hospital?"

Sarah shook her head, "I don't want to disturb you any more than I have. Uh, make sure Claire knows, I guess.. I …"

Robert interrupted her, "look I am going to meet you at the hospital. Go get yourself ready, and maybe grab whatever John might need. I will see you shortly. OK?"

The gentle commands in his voice calmed her down and gave her some specific things to think about. "Thank you Robert." She hung up the phone and made her way to her bedroom. She pulled on a pair of sweat pants that fit over the cast on her ankle, and an old tunic she had over it. She pulled on one shoe and made her way to John's room. She tried waking him one more time. Still nothing, she reminded herself not to panic and through clean boxers and a few t-shirts as well as a pair of jeans into a bag. As she was making her way to the kitchen to grab his medications she saw the flashing lights pull up to her house. She crutched over to the door to open it before the man could knock. He looked surprised.

"I saw the lights and assumed you'd be knocking. Come with me. She took the young man to John's room; he ran through a small battery of tests to determine he was indeed completely unconscious. He walked out of the room and returned moments later with his partner and a bed to get John onto. She finished grabbing the things she'd need for an overnight stay for both of them. The paramedics got John into the ambulance; they helped Sarah in as well after she locked up the house. As one man drove the other took a bunch of information from Sarah.

Robert went up stairs to grab a few things, and noticed the light on beneath Claire's door. He debated letting her know, but realized he'd be in far more hot water with her if he waited to tell her. He knocked gently on his daughter's door, hoping she was asleep. His hope was doomed as she answered, "yes?" With that answer he opened her door, which he noted was unlocked, much to his dismay, but back to the present.

"Hey Claire, uh… do you want to come with me to the hospital? Apparently Sarah found John unresponsive with a dangerously high temp. She called an ambulance to get them. Not sure what made her call here, but I'll admit I'm glad she did. I thought you might want to come along, though you might be more comfortable in your own bed."

Claire jumped up, rummaged through a pile of clothes and pulled on a pair of jeans. She was still in the t-shirt she'd had on earlier, and while she normally would have screamed at him to leave the room before she crossed in t-shirt and panties she was not thinking of herself right now. "Of course I want to come!" Before she found socks and shoes she walked over and gave her father a hug and held on for much longer than usual. "Thank you for being so understanding and good to John, it means so much to me." Robert kissed the top of her head, "I know Angel, I know. Meet me downstairs in 10?"

She nodded, "I'll be ready in 5. It's almost liberating not having to worry so much about what others are going to think." She sat down to pull on socks, short boots, and a denim jacket over her shirt. She still looked basically fashionable, but she was no longer worried about it. Right now she just wanted to see John. She briefly wondered if she should call any of the gang. She decided to wait until she had more info, and headed down the stairs.

The two Standishs made it to the hospital within thirty minutes of Sarah's initial phone call. Robert walked in and searched the triage area for Sarah. Since he didn't see her, he walked up to the main desk. "Evening ma'am, I am looking for a young man who was just brought in, John Bender?"

The woman looked up at him and asked, "are you family?" Claire stepped forward, "sort of, he's my boyfriend, if we could just talk to his guardian, Sarah Dearing I'd feel better… otherwise I am so likely to meltdown right here… please… "

The woman took in the panic in the girl's voice, "let me see if I can find someone for you." Claire smirked just a little at her father. He tried very hard not to laugh. "Did you learn that trick from your mother?"

Claire gave him a look and said, "As if. She would through a temper tantrum, and you know it." Robert shook his head and wrapped his arm around Claire. "Have to say I'm proud of you, I kind of expected you to throw one, to be honest." She leaned her head against him, "Maybe a few weeks ago I would have. I think we're changing, you and I. Can I ask you a question?"

The two of them were waiting for the nurse to return, he rubbed her arm a little and said, "something tells me I'm going to need to be seated. Besides, you are looking kind of held together by sheer will and adrenaline." Claire nodded, but kind of stomped her way to the seats. "I wish they'd hurry up already."

Robert looked at her as they sat down. "Angel, I am just as anxious to know your young man is alright, and well Sarah's had a pretty emotionally hard day too."

She turned her head to look at him carefully, "Daddy, it almost sounds like you have a thing for Miss Dearing."

"Don't be silly, I'm a married man, besides why would she look twice at an old codger like me." Claire laughed a little, "you do know you all but admitted I'm right, don't you? No need to dig yourself in deeper, I know to stop when I'm ahead."

He chuckled, "now just when did you learn that? it certainly wasn't from your mother or I."

She put her head on his shoulder, "I think I learned from John and Allison. They both seem to know how to stop when their ahead, and it's one of those things I am working on. Allison talked to me about it when she was getting me through a panic attack the other day."

Robert squeezed his daughter close to him, he thought it might be one of the last few times they'd ever have this kind of heart to heart, and he found he really loved her, more than he could say really. "So Princess, what was your question for me? I am trying to distract us both."

She started to wrinkle her nose, but it hurt so she stopped, "uh could you not call me that?"

He chuckled, "would that have anything to do with your boyfriend calling you that?" She leaned into him and nodded at the same time.

She sat up, "I like you calling me Angel anyway. It's what you called me when I was really little. My question, well, like, would you please just divorce her already? She's just been getting worse, and I am tired of hearing her, and having her drag everything and everyone down. I heard the two of you the other night, and I just… I don't know.. well, like, I just want her gone Daddy."

He kissed the top of her head, which she'd put the bandana back on. "I've been thinking a lot about that, and if you are as serious as I am, I will talk to a divorce lawyer next week. My lawyer, Jim, gave me a few names, and so did Sarah. Do you really want to do this?"

She nodded, "she's just gotten, I don't know, mean lately. Gods it's been forever, where is someone to tell us what's going on with John?" Robert rubbed his daughter's arm, "it's probably been 10 minutes." As he said that an exhausted looking Sarah came out from a set of double doors. "You two can come on back," Sarah said as she held open one of the doors with a crutch.

They walked silently to John's room. Robert opened the doors for Sarah and Claire and followed them in. John was hooked up to a heart monitor, and a couple of IVs. Claire rushed up to him, "idiot, you should have listened to me. See where it got you." She said this quietly while brushing the hair away from his face and running her cool fingers over his forehead.

Sarah hung back a little with Robert watching the two of them. He quietly said, "you ought to sit before you fall down. Not to say you aren't beautiful, but you look like hell." Sarah smiled at him, "what an interesting backhanded comment. I was about to go to bed when I found John. It was a pretty excruciating day, and I don't know if you noticed, but there is a police officer just outside the room."

Robert nodded, and pulled a comfortable chair over so she could sit down. "I noticed. John told me about your new escort over dinner." Robert made Sarah sit down. He pulled the chair over to the end of the bed, on the opposite side from Claire. He squatted down and put her casted foot up on the bed. "Claire pull a chair up and sit down. You can keep it up there if you want, but I want you to sit. You got a concussion yesterday, remember." Claire smiled at how fatherly he sounded. She pulled a chair up near John and took his hand. She looked at her father for a moment, talking to Sarah Dearing and decided she was tired, too tired to sit up. She and John had been sharing hospital beds for several days so what was one more time. She climbed up and onto the bed, careful not to disturb any of the wires on him, made sure his casted hand was properly propped up, and laid down with her head on his chest so she could hear his heart beat. Within moments she was asleep.

The action hadn't been lost on either Sarah or Robert both of whom chose not to comment on it. Robert figured if what John had was contagious Claire already had it, and what was it going to hurt for them both to be comfortable. Sarah found it very interesting that Robert hadn't stopped Claire, but she also figured Claire needed the rest as much as anyone. She wished they would hurry up and tell her what was wrong with him. Why wasn't he waking up.

The look of worry was easy for Robert to read. "I am sure he'll be fine Sarah; if the doctors here can't help we'll find doctors who can. So finish telling me about your day and I will do the same, it will continue to distract us from the lack of information. Seems to be what I am good at."

Sarah laughed quietly, "Once Strickler was hauled off, and John sent home – well to your house, my classes went well. Between classes I had Allison Reynolds and Andrew Clark, Brian Johnson, and boys with names like Spaz, and Slate all stopped by to see me, each asking if John was ok, and if there was anything they could do for me. It was kind of surreal. The police officer Jameson stayed either in my classroom or just outside of it all day. I am really glad he was there, I told him to make sure John got to the office and he was the one who got Strickler off of John. Anyway, I had a dinner of leftovers from lunch yesterday which warmed beautifully by the way. I thought everything was fine…. Now tell me about your day or I am going to have a fit, and I know logically tests take time."

Robert smiled at her and said, "be right back." He stepped out of the room to see if he could flag down a doctor, and to see if he could find an extra chair. A nurse in a pair of pink scrubs looked up from a chart, "Can I help you?"

"Yes, I am looking for the doctor in charge of this patient, John Bender" he motioned to the room.

"I'll see if I can find someone for you sir." She walked away quite quickly.

He ducked back in the room and grabbed the chair Claire had been told to sit in. He pulled it closer to Sarah. "Well my day started out boring enough. Same work day as usual, then Adam called, he said he needed a drink. We went to a pub and had a drink, he told me about the general headache all male Stricklers have become in his book." They both smiled at that notion that the men were off the street. "He also told me I should get a divorce." He stopped talking for a minute and looked at the kids on the bed, then down at his watch. It was almost 2am. "I wish there was someplace more comfortable for you to be, you have to be exhausted."

Sarah shook her head, "I wouldn't rest anyway. So the chief of police is an old friend of yours or something? He laughed, "well yes. There are a whole group of us who either never left Shermer or came back here after leaving. Place somehow always draws people back in. I went to Junior high and high school with Adam, now the chief of police; Jason Strickler, whose son is like him only more violent I think; and even officer Mike Talamand, there's a few doctors on staff here who went to Shermer."

Sarah smiled, "I just can't imagine you in High school. I mean I see these kids every day, and with some I can't imagine them any other way, but some I can see the direction they are headed. I desperately wanted, no want to show John there are other ways of being a family, does that make any sense? "

Robert nodded, "the other part of my day, well, Claire asked me to divorce Karen; she actually asked me to do it. So I guess the die is cast; I am going to get a divorce. I promised her I'd talk to some divorce lawyers." He went silent and looked at Claire for a while; he wondered, "I wonder how long ago I lost her."

Sarah put her hand on his arm, "if you take the right steps, I don't know you've lost her at all."

Robert gave her a strange look, "I didn't realize I'd said that out loud." Sarah smiled tiredly at him, "you did. I'll bet you are just as tired as I am." He shrugged, "maybe, but I haven't been recently brutalized unlike everyone else in this room."

As soon as those words were out of his mouth a doctor walked in, He looked at the two on the bed mildly confused and turned to the adults in the room, "Mrs… he looked down at his clip board… Miss Dearing?"

She sat up and grimaced a bit, "That's me. Can you tell me what's going on?"

The young doctor looked back at his clip board as a nurse walked in to add a bag to one of the IV stations near John. "Well he seems to have gotten an infection, we're just not sure where or from what yet. It's really the only thing that explains the temperature spike, and he is responding to the broad spectrum anti-biotics, his temp is down to 101. The girl with him?"

Sarah smiled, "she's his girlfriend and we can try to separate them, but one generally ends up with the other no matter what we do, so it's just easier to leave them."

The doctor nodded, "as for his unconscious state, we don't really have an explanation at this point. It may simply be his body shutting down to heal. Recent medical studies have told us this sometimes happens in patients who are repeatedly injured. I would say this is probably the case since he has had a number of head injuries in a relatively short time. We want to keep him here, at least until he wakes up so we're transferring him to another unit. Someone should be along to move him. Do you have any questions?"

Sarah shook her head, Robert said, "so you are saying as soon as his body is ready he'll wake up, but you have no idea when that will be? Is he in a coma?"

The doctor shook his head, "we don't think so; his body is behaving as though it is asleep. The infection probably exacerbated a pre-existing condition. Did anything additional happen today – besides your inability to wake him? The records don't show the contusions around his neck. Sarah sighed again, "I thought I had explained this, but I might not have. He actually passed out earlier today; he had a fit of… I don't know… hysteria and afterwards he passed out. Then as he was walking down the hallway to leave, because he insisted he was fine mind you, another student tried to strangle him."

Robert spoke up, "he spent the afternoon at my house, we had a simple dinner of salmon, grilled potatoes, and a salad… he mentioned his throat hurt, and he had no voice to speak of. "

The doctor nodded and wrote notes down. "It's possible you have already explained this to someone Ms. Dearing, but it wasn't in his chart. Perhaps we'll get an MRI of his throat to make sure there wasn't any damage." Robert nodded, "I'd like him put in a room with a second bed, well I guess I am asking for a private room with two beds in it."

The doctor looked through the chart again, "that's very unusual for a patient with no insurance…"

Robert stood up, "I don't give a rat's ass about what is unusual; put him in a private room with a second bed, please. If you don't I'll call the dean of medicine tomorrow and make certain it happens, so I suggest you do it tonight."

The doctor, who was probably a fellow, backed up just a bit, "Yes sir, I'll make sure you get what you are asking for sir." He walked out of the room quickly. From behind him he heard Sarah say, "remind me that I wouldn't like you when you're angry or something ok?" He turned around and looked at her for a minute, "noted. I know you aren't going to leave until John wakes up, and you need rest. Therefore the second bed, I also didn't like a resident or fellow or whatever that young man is treating us as though I don't give more money to this hospital than he probably makes, sorry. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

Sarah chuckled, "didn't say it made me uncomfortable Robert." She took her foot down off John's bed as a couple of orderlies came into the room, "We're here to move this patient to a room upstairs. "

Robert remained standing and nodded; "will it be a problem to simply let my daughter continue to sleep there? She's rather protective of him."

One of them shrugged, "I don't care, I don't think it breaks any rules. Besides she doesn't look a lot better than he does."

Robert nodded, "another reason I asked. Can you tell me the room number?"

The man who had spoken so far looked at the paperwork he hand, "uh 423."

He nodded, "would I be pushing my luck to get one more favor?" The orderly smiled, "Nah, whatcha need, Sir?"

"A wheelchair, the lady can use her crutches pretty well but it's very late and I wouldn't want her to have any mishaps." Sarah started to protest, and Robert simply raised an eyebrow. She sighed, "You are a pain in the ass, Standish."

He laughed, "If it keeps you sitting; I'll take being a pain in the ass." She shook her head, but sat in the wheelchair the man brought. Robert said, "we'll follow you up."

Instead of following the orderlies Robert took her to the one open café room in the hospital. He walked up to the counter and ordered two latte's and two pieces of delectable looking chocolate pie. He brought it all back to the table. "If you say a word about gaining weight from this I swear I will get icing all over your face."

Sarah laughed, a deep belly laugh. "fuck, thank you for being here Robert. I am sure my blood sugar is ridiculously low and the food will be good so I can take some medication before I try to get some rest, as I am sure you are going to order me to do." She stuck her tongue out at him but drank the coffee and ate the chocolate cake.

At her first bite she moaned a little, "Damn, this is really good." Robert simply smiled at her.

Sarah took a couple of more bites and Robert enjoyed her enjoyment of them. Then she took a drink of coffee and said, "Can I ask a question that sort of goes back to an earlier conversation?" Robert nodded, "Of course."

"Until about a month ago Claire was a carbon copy of the other popular girls, and something tells me you weren't the type to buy school teachers chocolate cake at 3am. What changed? And well I guess it's a two part question, is that the reason for the divorce?"

Robert seemed to think carefully about the question before he answered. "Well I think it was a detention that woke Claire up. She met John there, as well as a number of other students. Things really began to change then. I have been kind of coming to this awakening for a while. Claire sort of pushed me over the edge. Then well, this past weekend was really the final catalyst. Part of it was seeing how brutal people I knew and thought nothing of were, while watching Claire run to this boy, again and again. I met someone who reminded me why that once upon a time I really liked people. I liked who I was and I wanted Claire to know that guy. Not the one who used her as a weapon in a never ending fight. I think I answered both questions there, did I?"

Sarah nodded and stopped herself from licking the plate. "I think you did, thank you for getting me the wheelchair; I am really tired and it's hard to maneuver the crutches when I am this tired." He smiled, "yeah sometimes I am relatively bright." She rolled her eyes. He wheeled Sarah up to Room 423, got her settled in the bed next to John's, the kids were still sound asleep. Robert asked for and received several extra blankets and pillows. He arranged one pillow under John's cast, one under Sarah's casted ankle, and one he threw over to the recliner. He settled an extra blanket over Claire who appeared to be burrowing into John for warmth, or something. He maneuvered the recliner between the two beds, as well as getting the phone near Sarah so she could call in early in the morning. He set his watch, but he doubted either of them would sleep very well anyway.

Robert was mostly asleep when Sarah woke up and called in; "Hi Marlene, I didn't expect you in so early. I need a sub for my classes. John is back in the hospital and I am not leaving him. I don't know if it's directly attributable to yesterday's attack, but it's a good probability. No, the doctors haven't been able to give me any straight answers. Yes, I promise to call in when I get more news. Thank you for handling this for me. Yes, it's been a rough week. I am going to try and get a little more shut eye before the doctors come around again. Thank you again. I don't know about Monday, but I hope to be back. True there is no real rush, I understand. I'll talk to you later." Geez, I am not sure that woman breathes between words Sarah thought and settled back into the bed which while not as comfortable as at home had its benefits.

XX

Richard Vernon walked into the office just after Principal Anderson. He caught the tail end of what he and a secretary were saying, "What were you saying about John Bender?" Vernon asked, truly curious. The graffiti obviously couldn't be laid at his feet, it had continued, some in worse ways after he was gone.

Marlene gave Vernon a look, "I'll only tell you if you lay off the boy for a while." Vernon held up his hands, "you have my word of honor."

"Well, Miss Dearing called in this morning, sounding pretty rough herself I might add, but apparently John Bender is back in the hospital. Spiked a fever last night or something; she said the doctors haven't given her any really straight answers yet, but promised to call back when she had news."

Vernon's wheels were spinning, "Thank you Marlene, will you keep me posted please?" He walked to his office. The kid was back in the hospital. What the hell had Strickler done to him? He sighed and put head in his hands. He really didn't know what to think. Apparently everyone thought he was too harsh on Bender, but the kid had made getting under his skin a personal crusade.

Vernon spent that Friday really listening; to the office ladies, the staff both teachers and folks like the lunch ladies, he listened to the students none of whom had moved from the topic of Bender, or the graffiti. On the second no one seemed to know who was doing it. It continued to appear through the day. On the subject of Bender there were definitely two camps: his supporters and his detractors. The number and variety of his supporters surprised him though – everyone from the nerds to most of the female staff workers and more than a few teachers, not to mention his cronies under the bleachers. The detractors tended to be the rich kids and jocks who hated everyone and anyone depending on day, which way the wind blew, and whether or not they were getting what they wanted.

Friday was almost over, and knowing he had to be back for detention early the next morning, Vernon poked his head in Anderson's office. "I'm kicking off a little early. Have to be back early in the morning and all."

Anderson looked at his employee, not someone he ever would have thought was suited to the job, and asked, "You feeling ok Rich? You've been awfully quiet today."

"I'm fine! I'm always fine. Just gonna get out of here a little early today. Alright by you?"

Anderson nodded, still not sure what was going on with his employee, "Of course, off with you, Man!"

Vernon drove down to a small, but nice bar near his house. He got himself a beer and drank it quietly trying to see if he could come to any conclusions about Bender. The kid had been on his mind all god damned day! He realized what he was feeling was worry, it had been a long time since he'd really felt worried about a kid, and it was John fucking Bender. Well hell, maybe he should just go see him, if he was in the hospital it would make sense. By listening today he had almost decided he'd gotten the kid all wrong, and now he felt like crap about it. He threw a couple of bucks on the bar and walked back to his car, decision made.

XX

Claire woke up with the sun shining on her face, in a different room than she'd fallen asleep in. John still laid in his apparently deep sleep state. She heard a nurse who came in to write numbers down on his chart. She silently started to cry, she moved her right hand up, kissed the emerald ring, and whispered, "I love you John Bender. You are not allowed to do this to me, do you hear? You can't make me love you than leave me." She settled her head back over his heart, the sounds of which made her feel somewhat better.

Robert had slept off and on throughout the night. Wakening to keep watch over the three sleepers in the room. He had a lot to think about, what did divorce really mean for him? Karen had been unfaithful, but then so had he over the years. She was a terrible bitch who had been basically abusive for years. Did she deserve alimony? Probably not, but it was likely she was going to get it. He was pretty sure Claire would choose him over Karen, but the moment she turned 18 which was only about a year off, he was pretty sure she'd choose John over them both. He turned his head to look at Sarah. She was a really terrific woman, but how much did he really know about her? Maybe he'd ask her out for dinner sometime.

He heard Claire whispering to John and wished she were still young enough he could keep her safe from the world. As the sun shined on the kids, he sat upright and realized he needed to go to work. Which meant going home and changing; he sighed and put his head in his hands. He picked up the phone on Sarah's table and called his secretary, "Hi Betsy, I'm probably not going to be in today. Yeah, Claire is still not feeling up to herself. I'm worried and I'd like to stay home with her. If the boss says something to you, have him give me a call at, 643-1223. Yes, that's a hospital number. It's a really long story. Ok, thanks Bets. Yeah, I might be at the house some today, in and out really. Alright then, thanks again." He hung up the phone quietly. Sarah turned on her side to face him. "You didn't have to call in on our account you know."

He nodded, "I know, I have a few things to take care of." He stood up and left a twenty on Sarah's table. "Can you make sure Claire eats something today? I'll be back after while." He stood up, folded the blanket he had been using and without thinking, he kissed Sarah on the forehead, Claire on her cheek, and left the room without a word.

Robert went home first, gratefully Karen was not there. He walked up to his bedroom, took a shower and changed into dress casual clothing rather than a suit. He had business to take care of, but he didn't want to be Mr. Standish. He wanted to be Robert. The first person he went to see was his brother Scott. He walked into Scott's office and took a seat while the receptionist let Scott know his brother was here to see him. It was unusual enough that he came out. "Hey there brother man! It's been too long.' Scott and Robert walked back to the corner office. Scott was the CEO of an architecture company, started with a loan from their folks, one he had paid back years before. Scott sat behind his mahogany desk, "So to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit Rob?"

Scott had always been the more laid back of the brothers; he'd gotten into more trouble, and in the end been more successful, but always on his own terms. Robert was roughly a year younger than Scott. "I need some advice, I guess. I've decided, finally I guess, to divorce Karen. As things stand, I don't want to give her everything thing and well I don't know what to do.

Scott arched an eyebrow, "I'm glad you finally made that decision; she's a real bitch. What's my niece, Claire, think of all this? You know I am behind you 100%, and I think Dad will be too, Mom, well she's a coin toss, but I think she'd be behind you too. So, you need a good lawyer?" He opened a desk drawer and handed Robert a card, "this guy handled my last divorce; he's good." Robert put his elbows on his knees, and rubbed his hands together. "Claire is at the hospital with her boyfriend and his guardian. Claire, well, she asked me to divorce her mother yesterday." Robert told his brother the whole story about Sarah, and John, and Claire. "Let's go get some lunch and we can continue talking."

Pretty please review,it makes my day... and keeps these characters telling their story.. now back to grading.


	30. Chapter 30

Disclaimer: I don't own any part of the Breakfast Club. I am writing between grading papers, so I hope there aren't any glaring point of disjointedness.

Robert and Scott Standish enjoyed a nice lunch at an upscale restaurant in downtown Chicago, and while they were there Scott called his previous divorce lawyer to set up a meeting for his brother. Robert chuckled, "afraid I was going to back out again?"

Scott tilted his head, "Can you blame me?"

"I suppose not, I've been talking about this for over a year now. It kind of changes your perspective when your daughter has been terrorized and brutalized and she not only runs to her boyfriend for comfort, but her mother proceeds to smack her for behaving badly. I was just done. I have been doing my best to be there for Claire, and Karen is just, fuck, I don't know, drunk."

Scott ran his fingers through his hair, "so is Claire in the hospital or just there with her boyfriend? Robert replied, "She was released, but hasn't slept properly outside of the hospital. Well I think she and John slept off and on through yesterday, but well her eyes still look, weary, I guess."

Scott picked up the bill and finished his coffee, "I still cannot believe you are ok with Claire dating John Bender. His old man was the most notorious asshole at Shermer.

Robert polished off a glass of water, "well there are a few things you may or may not know; you know Joe is dead, right? Scott's eyebrows shot up, "I didn't; he finally piss off the wrong person or did the fucker drink himself to death.

"The first is closer to the second – First of all, Bender isn't John's real dad, and second his mother shot him then herself. It was pretty big news back home. But John seems to be a really decent kid, and Claire has been less of a self centered bitch since they started dating; they are good for one another. Besides, they've been practically inseparable since saving their teacher. I really just want to see her happy, and this boy seems do do that.

Scott shrugged, "it's your call, so long as she isn't knocked up by prom I'm alright with it."

"Thanks for the encouragement, but I'm pretty sure they are still too physically injured to be up for much in that area. Thanks for lunch, and the shoulder to cry on."

Scott burst out laughing, "I've yet to see you shed a tear, should I work on that?"

"You've always been an ass, you know that?" Robert ribbed his brother good naturedly. The brother's separated and Robert stopped in at a club he belonged to in order to use the phone. The phone rang once, then twice before Sarah picked up. "Hello?" She always sounded tentative when she answered the phone, Robert wondered what that was about, but figured he'd learn the truth eventually.

"It's me Rob." He could almost hear the smile on her face, and for some inexplicable reason it improved his day, "I have figured out what your voice sounds like. Are you coming back here today? Claire has been in and out of sleep, but she is kind of an attachment to John who has still not awakened."

"Well you answered the questions I had to begin with, but can I bring you something for lunch?" The two carried on chatting for a few minutes, but ended with an acknowledgement that Robert would be returning to the hospital soon.

It was about 2:30 when Richard Vernon walked into Shermer General Hosptial. He thought about bringing something, and had finally settled on a card – one the entire office had signed. Strange, the world is just getting strange Vernon thought. He got the room number from the reception desk and headed up; he was not entirely sure what kind of reception he would receive, or what kind he deserved really. He saw Sarah Dearing sitting in a chair reading a book and on the bed was John Bender hooked up to a variety of machines and much to his surprise a sleeping Claire Standish. The police officer stationed outside of the room poked his head in "Miss Dearing? There's a Richard Vernon to see you, he's not on the standard list…" She nearly dropped her book upon hearing who the visitor was. "He's fine Eddie, let him through. Mr. Vernon, this is an unexpected…visit. Come in, there's a chair there she pointed to the chair she'd spent part of the night in, as she was presently in the recliner. She sat upright, "so, uh, to what do we owe the pleasure? I know there's no lost love between you and John."

The space between his eyebrows creased as he searched for the words he was looking for. To cover he handed Sarah the card. "I don't know exactly what to tell you, except, I think I might have it all wrong with this kid. I spent the morning listening, and well he was the talk of the school, not that that's terribly unusual. Anyway, if I ignore the snotty rich brats, and the people who are afraid of him by reputation alone…well, most people don't say much bad about him. I guess I just never paid attention, because I am pretty sure he makes it a personal mission to get under my skin. How is he anyway?"

Sarah looked at Vernon like he'd grown a second head for a moment, and then shook her head gently as though to dislodge something. "His temperature is almost back to normal, all his vitals are pretty good considering, but he's completely unconscious. Hell, I almost decked a doctor doing rounds this morning. He was showing a group of med students how to prove if a person is faking unconsciousness; he did this by shoving a needle in John's foot, the foot spasmed, but he never woke up. Come to think of it neither did Claire. But I asked him, in no uncertain terms to leave the damn room. John's not a damn lab rat." She shook her head; "sorry, you are the first person to get that particular vent today. Claire has used the rest room a few times, but I'm not sure she actually woke up for those trips."

Vernon pointed to the bed, "Do her parent's know where she's at?"

Sarah arched a brow at him, "Her father does; he left here this morning and is due back this afternoon at some point. He left them sleeping there."

Vernon shook his head again. "The uh card is from the staff at school, not just me… so please give it to him when he wakes up." Vernon stood up, looking nervous… "How are you feeling?"

Sarah shrugged, "I've definitely been better, but I've been worse too. I'm really pretty worried right now, and I'm still fairly tired most of the time. I am sorry I had to leave you short again."

Vernon waved his hand, "it's fine. No, if I'd arrived back at work and had to face an attacker like Strickler, hell I would take an extra few days off just out of spite, and you have a good reason. I got a substitute for the next week, just in case, so you have the option of waiting to come back till next week. I'll admit I'm not one of Bender's biggest fans, but I was one of the people arguing Tommy Strickler's immediate suspension. Hell, I recommended expulsion, but Anderson wouldn't hear it. I am sorry though, really sorry that you had to deal with him. For what it's worth, I hope John gets better soon, the place just isn't the same without him. But God, Please don't tell him I said that…"

Sarah chuckled, "Of course I won't – the two of you have a rivalry to keep up. Thank you for stopping by; you don't have to leave so quickly."

Vernon rubbed his hands nervously together, "I haven't exactly been the best person to either of you, so thanks for letting me in at all. Something about that boy there, I don't know… he, I don't know, he forces people to think. Oh, and please do tell him the graffiti campaign has continued and in fact gotten worse. The custodial team, well they don't think they'll be able to get rid of it all even if they work all weekend. I do mean it, I hope he gets better…and not just because you're our best English teacher either." On those words Vernon left the room. Sarah suddenly understood all of John's comments about the twilight zone.

Friday turned to Saturday, then Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. Claire flat out refused to go to school on Monday or Tuesday. She said she'd go tomorrow even if John didn't wake up, but not today. Her father argued a little but gave in to the compromise. Each of them had left to shower and change at least once, but John was never left alone. Sarah was worried that as soon as he was alone he would wake up and think everyone had left him. The rest of the breakfast club came by over the weekend. They updated Claire on all the happenings at school. Tuesday, after school, they came by again. Claire shooed her father and Miss Dearing out for a while, saying it was there turn to hang out with John sans adults. She said, "go away, go on a date or something, but leave us teenagers alone for a while, please."

It was Tuesday afternoon and Claire was desperately trying not to panic. Her, no she thought, _their_ friends were there and talking about school should keep her from crying hysterically about the boy lying unconscious next to her.

Allison said, "So it's a little late, but let's convene this meeting of the breakfast club now that the nosy parental units have gone." Andy and Brian both grinned. "So who wants to start?"

Claire said, "I will" and the others were sure they were going to get another meltdown/update on John. "Apparently we had an unexpected visitor on Friday."

Andy shoved Allison who shoved Claire, "well tell us already will you!"

Claire laughed a little, "Richard Vernon came and left a card for John – apparently it's signed my most of the administration and staff. What's more important though is that he said thought he might have had John all wrong. Now Sarah told me all of this cause apparently I slept through his visit. It's probably a good thing, I'm not sure I'd have let him in, but anyway – he said that lots of people had really positive things to say about John and while he made Sarah promise never to tell John any of this; Vernon said he thought John deserved another chance." Claire reached over and rubbed John's arm while simultaneously twisting the Emerald on her finger.

Allison spoke up, "Ok, I have to ask, you have exactly two pieces of Jewelry on, and if I am not wrong, one of John's t-shirts. What's with that? And where oh where did you get the emerald ring? If you answer my questions to the best of your ability, then I might tell you what all the "popular" girls are saying. Dating Andy does have its downside without you there to be a shield."

Claire blushed, and looked down. "Well uh, the ring John gave to me."

Andy piped up, "where the hell did he get a ring like that? Is it real? Did he steal it or something?" Allison smacked him upside the head. Claire nodded her thank you to Ali.

"Where he got it was his Mom, yes it's real you dolt, and I should throw you out for insinuating he stole it – but I won't. As for the t-shirt, I went and picked some stuff up for Sarah and instead of going home I borrowed a pair of her jeans and one of John's shirts cause I showered there rather than going all the way home. Does that answer all your questions sufficiently, Miss Reynolds?" Claire responded with a grin on her face.

Allison giggled with a nod and responded, "For now. Anyway, Stephanie Rodgers came back from suspension today, and well spent the whole day in a permanent temper tantrum. So much so that Jenn and Lauren have decided she's entirely too much work, and too bitchy, and keep asking me when you'll be back. Now I kinda have to admit I get why she had the temper tantrum. I mean if every time I went into a bathroom or turned a corner there were nasty things graffiti'd about me I think I might lose it a little. Apparently the graffiti couldn't be removed over the weekend. There was just too much of it." They all laughed. "The best part is it can't be laid at John's feet, even if the idea was his, it got worse after he left, even girls started putting graffiti up about Strickler and about Steph. It was epic!"

Brian said, "well, some of the guys in the Latin club, we uh… we wrote some stuff on the walls in the back of the library… back where it won't be found for a while… but uh.. well we heard a rumor, well it's not exactly a rumor, it's more, uh, well Alex said his sister heard from her boyfriend that uh, Steph likes to make out with guys back there. So the first person to see it should scream pretty good, and if it's not true, well someone should get a laugh right?"

Claire squeezed his shoulder, "thanks Brian. I appreciate the thought and I am sure John would be happy to hear you are turning the physics club into delinquents."

Andy started before Claire got weepy again. "Well uh, the wrestling team kind of turned on the football team. All kinds of fights were breaking out. The guys decided that since the quarterback was some kind of evil rapist, most of the rest of them must be as well. I think six or seven fights broke out Friday afternoon. I had to keep my nose clean, well you know how my dad is. So what's going on with your old man and Miss D? They seem kind of buddy, buddy."

Clair shrugged, "My dad talked to a divorce lawyer. I kind of asked him to, and I think he might really go through with it this time. And well, since like their marriage was over a long time ago, I don't know. I asked him how he felt about Sarah and he all but admitted he liked her. I don't know, they seem to be like someone to lean on for one another." Claire rubbed John's arm absently, but his fingers twitched.

Brian noticed the fingers, and started to tell Claire to check on him – but was interrupted but a very scratchy, very low voice. "Fuck, you all make a lot of noise for a few high school students." Claire turned around and jumped on the bed straddling him. "Oh my god, John your awake!"

Claire poured John some water and handed it to him. He took a long sip, "You act like it's been forever. How long have I been asleep?" She took the water glass and hugged him again; she sat up but continued stroking his chest, "what day is it John?"

He asked Claire to press the button to make the bed sit up. She did and slid on the bed beside him, keeping her head on his chest. "So? Hazard a guess at the date?"

"Well I am in the hospital again, and the sun is shining, so I am guessing – Friday?"

She shook her head, he thought about it for a minute, "Uh, let's say Sunday?" Claire shook her head again.

"Fuck! How long have I been asleep?" Each time he spoke his voice sounded a little scratchier

"It's Tuesday John." His eyes widened. "Well I feel better than I have in a while, but Tuesday? Really? That's fucked up." By the end of that statement his voice was all but gone again, which worried him a little.

Claire put her head on his chest and held on tight for a moment. "I think we should probably let a nurse or a doctor or something know you're awake." John kept his arm around Claire, "Let them figure it out themselves, I don't want to let you go."

Andy asked, "How long have you been awake? What did you hear?"

John thought about it for a moment, "I don't know, it all kinda sounded like mumbling, then I was just awake and Claire was pouncing on me. Did I miss much?"

They all started talking at once, John and Claire looked at one another and John raised his hands, "Hey guys, I can only understand of you at a damn time. Klepto, did I miss much? And I am asking her, because I am pretty sure she doesn't miss much."

They all talked for about 5 minutes when a nurse walked in looking at a chart, when she looked up. "Holy Jesus, Mr. Bender, you are awake! Now why didn't one of you come and tell us?"

John replied, though his voice was much deeper and softer than he was used to, it didn't hurt to speak at the moment, "I haven't been awake long enough to be really oriented, and I think my friends were afraid I'd pass out again. Can you tell me when my voice will be normal again?"

The nurse looked at Claire and shook her head, but didn't make the girl move; she proceeded to check all of the leads to the various monitors. "Your Miss Dearing will be delighted to see you are awake she's been as worry struck as your little girl there, who wouldn't leave you alone for anything." The nurse seemed to be talking to John, but he wasn't sure. "my voice?" The nurse replied, "Honey, that's a question only a doctor can answer, and I'm not one – so you will have to be patient."

Over the next 30 minutes the breakfast club, minus John and Claire took their leave. John looked at Claire, "you don't have to be home?" Then he looked at the clothes she was wearing and the circles under her eyes. "When was the last time you were home?"

Claire blushed and looked kind of bashful, "uh, does stopping at your place to pick stuff up for Sarah count?"

John smiled softly at her, "not really, but since you look good wearing my clothes I am not gonna complain. Can I at least have that one back? It's one of my favorites."

Claire kissed him soundly, and after a moment he began kissing back. Someone clearing their throat made them jump apart. Standing at the end of the bed was Robert and Sarah, both with giant grins on their faces. Claire blushed brightly and hid her face in John's chest. John laughed and stroked her hair.

"Apparently I have been worrying people. Uh, sorry?"

Sarah rolled her eyes and walked around to the side of the bed Claire was not on, and kissed the top of his head. He looked mildly confused. "what was that for?"

"Because you are right, I have been worried sick." She stroked John's hair back from his face the way Claire often did, "I found you completely unresponsive with a temperature of 104. And well this is the first time you've come to – days later. They've done all kinds of tests and the best the doctors could tell was that your body shut down so you could heal."

John tried clearing his throat asked Sarah, "What about my voice – the nurse said a doctor would have to tell me; what the fuck does that mean?"

Sarah smoothed his hair a little, very motherly like. "Well they did an MRI of your throat yesterday, and the results are due in sometime this afternoon. Dr. Mitchell, the primary doctor taking care of you should be in to check on you soon. And we'll find some answers, I promise. The doctors were worried that your vocal cords were somehow injured. He was the new doctor put in charge of your case this morning; I don't think you've met him yet Rob." John wasn't sure how that information was pertinent to anyone, but decided to pay attention to Claire instead.

Claire put her head on his shoulder and whispered into his ear, "it's kinda sexy, your voice being all low like this."

John grinned at her, "You do realize we are being watched by your dad and Sarah, right?"

Claire shrugged, "I've been sleeping next to you since Friday night, I'm not changing how I behave just because you're awake. Unless you want some space or something…"

She looked so worried that he had to kiss her nose, it was just fucking cute. "You're fine Princess."

She practically squealed.

John was a little confused, "what? What did I say?"

She blushed and suddenly looked shy, tears came to her eyes, "I haven't heard you call me princess in days; I was worried I'd never hear it again."

John just kind of stared at her. He wiped the tears away from her eyes very gently, "don't cry over me Princess. I don't know what to do when you cry and it kind of makes me crazy. So, uh, I'm gonna say something that's probably gonna make you laugh and want to smack me."

Claire smirked a little at John, "oh?"

John smirked a lot, "Well in the last few days those black eyes have started turning lovely shades of green and yellow to go with the purple, and I think… just maybe your nose is gonna be a tad crooked."

Claire laughed, smacked John's chest, and told him he was an ass.

John laughed at her, "yeah, and you love it." Claire nodded. Both Sarah and Robert were in stitches over the interaction. While they were laughing a middle aged doctor walked in the room. "Robert?"

Rob turned and looked at the doctor, "Jim? It's been nearly twenty years hasn't it?"

The doctor nodded, "something like, I just moved here from Bethesda. Looking for something a little quieter I guess. I didn't realize you knew this patient." He turned to Sarah, "Miss Dearing?" When she nodded he continued, "and I assume you are John. I'm Dr. Jim Kransky, It's nice to meet you." The doctor walked over and offered John his left hand, noting the cast on the right hand. "I just received the results from the MRI of your throat. There has been damage to both the larynx and the vocal cords. Now, it looks like this isn't the first throat injury you've had." John shook his head and said, "it was one of my old man's favorite ways to get people, mostly me, to stop talking. A chop to the throat, cut my voice for an hour or more." The doctor made a few notations. "I've not seen an injury like this in a patient who actually had any voice before, so you are unique and a little lucky. The injury is likely to heal in time, but you may have a deeper voice than you are used to for a while, or it may be permanent, only time will tell I'm sorry to say."

Sarah asked, "Prior to his… extended sleep.. he complained that talking hurt. Does it still hurt John?"

John appeared to think about it for a second. "Only if I do it a lot. Good thing I'm not an incredibly talkative guy right?"

The doctor made a few more notations, "We want to monitor you over night, but if all goes well you can go home in the morning. I'd save school for Thursday or Friday, and I'd save your voice as much as possible. In about 6 weeks we'll take another look at your neck. In 6-8 weeks we'll take a look at your hand and evaluate the healing. Any other questions for me?"

John asked, "Can I get out of school till say, next Monday?" Claire laughed and rolled her eyes, but the doctor said, "sure, I don't see why not, keeping you calm, quiet and well rested as long as possible is only going to speed up your healing." The commentary made John very happy, and he whispered to Claire, "I think I like this guy."

Jim Mitchell shook the hands of both Sarah Dearing and Robert Standish. He asked them to step out of the room for a moment, "The damage to that boys throat is really pretty traumatic and extensive. I was surprised to hear him speak at all. I was being completely honest, only time will tell with that kind of injury. He needs to be kept calm and continue to rest for several days I'd say." Turning to Robert, "we should have lunch one of these days, catch up. I have to see other patients now, but take care of these folks will you Robert." Dr. Mitchell turned to walk away, no one corrected his assumption that Sarah and John were his to take care of.

Robert made Claire come home with him that evening. "Sweetheart you haven't slept in your own bed in days and you've slept fitfully. You need a good night's rest, and _you_ have no reason not to go to school tomorrow. Please don't argue with me." He looked at John for a little help, not sure exactly what the boy would say. "Princess, I promise I will wake up tomorrow morning, but you need your beauty sleep. I don' think worrying about me has helped in that area. Besides, you coming to see me will give me something to look forward to, besides getting out of this place."

Claire nodded tiredly, "alright, I know when I've lost the fight." She pulled the privacy curtain around John's bed. Her father commented, "You better not have to adjust your clothes when I pull that back." John laughed and whispered, "He apparently thinks we're both in better shape than we are." He leaned over and kissed her thoroughly, and while she was still obviously new at the whole kissing thing, she was a fast learner. After a few minutes they heard the curtain being pulled back and moved away from one another.

She gathered her things from around the room and as she was walking out the door with her father, John said, "Don't forget to bring me my shirt tomorrow, Princess."

Please review it keeps the plot bunnies happy and the characters talking...


	31. Chapter 31

I hope you like this chapter… there's a lot of angst… but I promise to get everyone back to school in the next update.

Claire got up early the next morning and stumbled to the shower. She didn't feel very well rested. Strangely, it felt like she slept better next to John. She could not understand why in less than a month she felt more attached to him than to any other boyfriend she'd ever had. Was she in love with him? These were the things Claire pondered while she showered; with a smile she was sure John would again be delighted that she was thinking about him in the shower. In fact, just thinking about him made her feel warm deep in her belly. After a long, rather enjoyable shower she sat down at her vanity wrapped in a towel.

She was deeply displeased when she looked in the mirror. John was right, her eyes were healing, but they were now disgusting shades of yellow, green, and deep purple. Claire got up, rubbed the towel over her hair and decided she didn't feel like blowing it dry. She combed it and left it to whatever it would look like. She opened her closet and stared for a moment. She liked feeling stylish, and today she was tired and feeling kind of worn thin – in the past dressing nicely had always helped, she hoped it would today. She picked up a fairly long skirt; it went to just below her knees. The skirt was a deep shade of brown and a thin suede material; she chose a light pink blouse in brushed cotton to match it. She grabbed a jacket which matched the skirt and a pair of knee high boots. She smiled as she looked in the mirror. She liked the outfit; it made her feel a little better. Now, to do something about her face; she spent about 20 minutes fussing with makeup but at the end you could barely tell she'd been injured or hadn't slept well. She checked her watch and realized she still had time for breakfast. She grabbed her purse and school bag, but a sharp pain in her back made her put the school bag back down. Instead, she pulled some folders and notebooks out of it and made her way down to the kitchen.

To her dismay she found her mother standing in the kitchen, dressed as though she were going to, or more likely coming from a cocktail party. Karen looked her daughter up and down,"Well it's nice to see you have decided not to look like a slob in public today. Do you think you could manage not to destroy any more of our families reputation?" Karen Standish turned her back to her daughter as she was made the second comment, and she'd opened the refrigerator to pour some of the mimosa she'd been drinking since she got home and made it about an hour before.

Claire counted to ten and hoped the woman would just go away; she wished she had another mother, any other mother really. Claire walked over to the counter and pulled a bagel out of the bread box, sliced it, and put it in the toaster. Karen watched this and remarked, "Do you really think you need carbs this early in the morning, you know they will only make you fat."

As her bagel was toasting she retrieved the cream cheese, though she nearly had to push her mother away from the fridge to get to it. "Really Claire cream cheese, too? You should have a bit of fruit and leave it at that, I think you've gained quite a bit of weight recently." Karen took another sip of her drink. Claire continued to simply ignore her, she prepared her bagel, poured the last of the fresh orange juice which was on the island counter; Claire figured the rest had gone into her mother's drink. She took a large bite of the bagel and closed her eyes willing herself not to get angry or to cry at the comments the woman who gave birth to her was saying.

Karen watched her daughter with distaste, where had she gone wrong? She no longer seemed to care what other people thought; this was simply not something Karen was willing to let this go. "Claire you really need to apologize to your friends. I spoke with Angela Rodgers and Stephanie is beside herself over your behavior. She has been your friend since grade school and you started a fight with her over something silly. I just don't know what has gotten into you." She finished off the mimosa and poured herself another.

Claire finally had enough, "Mother, I don't owe anyone an apology. I have done NOTHING wrong. Steph broke _my_ nose and gave _me_ a concussion because I refused to let her tell lies."

Karen put a newly manicured hand on her hip and set her drink down. "Really Claire, no one believes it was Tommy Strickler who hurt that sorry excuse for a teacher."

Claire stared at her for a moment then took a deep breath, "You know what Mother, you are an idiot. I saw him hurting her. I watched John yank Tom away from her. And as for the kind of teacher she is, well she's the best damned English teacher I have ever had. Why in the hell are you here anyway? Didn't Daddy ask you to leave? I have no desire to spend the anymore of my morning with a vapid drunk. As for how I look and whether or not I am gaining weight, well it's none of your damn business." Claire turned her back to mother, finished eating her breakfast, and went into the foyer to finish gathering her things, unfortunately her mother followed her.

"What in the hell do you mean it's none of my business?" Karen began yelling and grabbed Claire's arm, jerking the girl towards her, "Everything about you is my business, including if you look like a cow, if you date trash, and if you ruin the family's reputation! You will listen to me, you stupid bitch!" Claire was trying to pull away from her mother, but her mother literally had her claws, the newly manicured ones, digging into her daughter's arm so she could not get away. Finally, Karen smacked her daughter with all her strength – smacking her to the ground, leaving long scratches on Claire's arm from her nails. Claire screamed and crab walked to the corner as far away from her mother as she could get. Karen continued screaming, "I cannot believe you are willing to ruin our entire lives, everything I have worked for to fuck a scumbag. You are the reason your father is divorcing me – you always ruin everything! I hate you and I always have, I wanted a pretty daughter instead I got an ignorant, fat, little thing who has no perspective!" As she screamed she ran up to the corner Claire was in and began smacking her in the face, until Claire buried it in her arms, then she started punching Claire's head and shoulders. Claire started crying, she didn't understand what had gotten into her mother, why was she hurting her like this? Claire started to get dizzy after a particularly hard punch to the area she had recently had stitches in.

At just that moment her father walked in the front door, "What the fuck is going on here?" He pulled Karen away from Claire. "God dammit Karen do I have to get a restraining order against you? I told you to get out and I meant it. Jesus Christ are you already drunk?"

Karen yanked her arm away from Robert, "That's assault Robert. If anyone needs a restraining order it's one against you! So I had a mimosa or two; I am not drunk but that little bitch deserves a little bit of discipline - she is intending to continuing ruining our family." She walked over to her drink and finished it. "I am allowed into my own house, you can't keep me out of it." Karen commented calmly as if she had not just been beating Claire.

Robert walked over to Claire who was sobbing, he saw the blood running down her arm, and the new bruises forming on her arms and face. "Angel, look at me please." Claire looked up at him, the make-up had begun to run down her face. "Do you want to get out of here? Or do you want her to leave?" She started sobbing harder, "I don't know Daddy, I just want her away from me." Robert looked up and noticed Rose hiding in the doorway of his office. He helped Claire stand up, "Rose, can you please help Claire rinse off her arm, I need to know if she needs stitches or not." He walked up to Rose with Claire and whispered, "Did you see everything?" Rose nodded. "That's all I needed to know." He pushed Claire and Rose towards the hallway. Then he turned back to his wife.

"I am done Karen. I have spoken to a lawyer; I suggest you do the same. I will be getting a restraining order so you may not approach Claire after this what I witnessed this morning." Robert said with a deceptively quiet restraint. "You will NOT ever lay a hand on our daughter again. I suggest you gather your things because you are no longer welcome in this house. Do you understand me?

"You cannot keep me from my own home!" Karen screamed.

"Yes Karen, I can keep you from this house. Your name is nowhere on the lease, and you did not pay one cent for it or anything else in the last 20 years. I realized I am going to have continue paying for your indecent and decadent lifestyle, but I don't have to live with it and neither does Claire. You will never hurt her again. Do you hear me? Gather what you need and get the fuck out of my house."

Karen Standish began to throw a true temper tantrum. She picked up a vase from a table near the steps and threw it full force at Robert's head. The fact that she was tipsy and had lousy aim helped, but he said, "Stop this Karen. I will call the police and have your ass hauled out of here if you don't start behaving like an adult."

Her response was to rip the phone out of the wall and throw it at Robert. "Use that god damned phone. You are a lying, cheating, bastard, and the only reason you are doing this is so your precious daughter will like you better. You let her bring trash home, and don't even discipline her for fighting." She proceeded to take a picture of the family off the wall and smash it to the ground. "Fine you want me gone, I'll go, but I will take you for everything you have you son of a bitch." She reached the landing of the stairs where there was a table with a vase of flowers and some pictures. Karen hurled the vase at Robert, he just barely moved out of the way in time. He walked out of the room.

Karen came running down the stairs, "don't walk away from me you bastard!" She followed him into his office and began destroying anything she could pick up. Robert calmly picked up the phone and dialed 911. Karen was screaming obscenities and smashing everything she could reach; she didn't pay any attention to his phone call, except to call him a bastard who was calling a whore. "Where is that little bitch, I am going to fire that Mexican bitch who you are probably fucking." Robert grabbed her wrist as he hung up the phone – the officer on the other end of the line heard everything Karen Standish was saying and doing; he told Robert the police would be there ASAP to arrest her. Her response was to punch Robert in the jaw – his mouth began bleeding. He grabbed her other wrist, "ENOUGH!"

He moved her to a seat and pushed her into it. "Now fucking stay there, He walked quickly walked out of the office and locked the door behind him. Locking his soon to be ex-wife in his office; he regretted only what he would find when he let her out. "Now to find Claire and Rose," He walked down the short hallway to the kitchen where he found them both. Claire was holding a towel on her lower arm. Robert saw a fresh bruise blooming on her cheek, her lip was split, and she had four gouges down her arm, from the middle of her upper arm down to her wrist. The scratches on the upper arm had stopped bleeding. Rose spoke up, "I cannot get the lower scratches to stop bleeding, Sir."

Claire spoke quietly, "I need to wash my face, and put on make-up for school. I have a long sleeved jacket I had planned to wear anyway – so no one will see these." She seemed a little dazed. Robert moved up to her, "Angel, sweetheart, let me see?" he asked gently as he reached for the towel she was holding on her lower arm. Claire let him, "I'm sorry Daddy, I didn't mean to upset her." This was again said very quietly, as though Claire was going into shock of some kind.

Robert moved the towel off her arm; it was getting blood soaked anyway. "Rose, will you get me a clean towel?" There were three very deep scratches down her arm, the fourth was not as deep and appeared to have stopped bleeding as the upper portion of the scratches had. The gouge like scratches ended in a parallel to her wrist – three scratches were beginning to pour blood onto the counter. Rose handed him two clean towels: one wet, one dry. He wiped away the blood which just kept pouring out of the scratches, then he placed the dry one over her arm. He looked at Claire, "Angel I need you to keep pressure on this, ok?" She nodded and did as he said. The doorbell rang.

He walked to the door only to hear Karen screeching and pounding on the office door. He opened the door to find two police officers standing there. "We're responding to a domestic disturbance call; is everything alright Sir?" He opened the door for them to enter. Their eyes widened at the sounds, mixed with obscenities coming from behind the closed doors to the left. The vocal sounds were punctuated with the sounds of objects being smashed or destroyed. Robert sighed, "No, I need something done with her. However, I think I need an ambulance too, can one of you come with me for a moment?" They nodded and followed him to the kitchen.

"She, my… soon to be ex-wife hurt my daughter this morning. I was actually meeting with a divorce lawyer, and when I returned home I found her," he pointed at Claire, "being beaten about the head and shoulders by her mother, the bruise on the side of her face is new, as is the new split lip. As well as the…scratches." Claire quietly said, I think the stitches on my head are split too Daddy, it feels like there is something running down the back of my head." He and one of the officers looked at her head to find she was correct. Several stitches had split and there was a stream of blood running down her head. Robert reached for a towel and pressed it to the injury. "Rose will you keep pressure on this please?"

One of the officers radioed for an ambulance to get there quickly. Robert began pacing the room. Claire said quietly, "Daddy? I'm tired, is it ok if I go lie down?" He walked over to her and added pressure to her forearm. "No Angel, I'm sorry but you can't go upstairs just now. I need you to stay with me." Robert spoke with the officers about what he understood to have happened, Claire explained almost robotically. He was getting very worried about the amount of blood she was losing; they were on their fourth or fifth towel over her arm and the bleeding had not even slowed down much, the bleeding from her head seemed to have slowed, but it still showed through the towel. Finally, the paramedics arrived, one of the police officers opened the door; they had promised Robert they'd stay until the paramedics arrived, then they would take his wife into custody.

The first paramedic came in and immediately put a tourniquet around Claire's arm which made her cry, but it slowed the bleeding. "She needs stitches Sir." Robert nodded, "I suspected as much. Is she in shock?"

The paramedic cleaning the scratches nodded. "It appears that way." So it was, instead of a pleasant morning and getting to school Claire was once again brutalized, this time by her own mother. Robert watched the officers take Karen away in handcuffs as they were loading Claire into the ambulance. He didn't know which way to go. So he asked the officers, "do I need to come with you or can I go with my daughter?"

The older officer said, "go with your daughter. This one isn't going anywhere for a while, at least not till she sobers up." Robert climbed into the back of the ambulance with Claire, he stroked her hair. "I'm so sorry about this Angel; I didn't know she'd be home, or I never would have left you alone." Claire tried to sit up, but was pushed down by the paramedic. "You need to just relax honey. I need you to relax, ok?"

Claire looked at her father, "Does this mean I won't be going to school today?" Robert chuckled, "that's what you are worried about? How about this, I promise to call you in as soon as we get your arm taken care of. Ok?" Claire nodded. "Thank you Daddy, will you call John too? I don't want him to worry." After that Claire passed out and her blood pressure started dropping. The paramedic looked at Robert, "how many towels did her blood soak through? Robert thought about it, "I don't' know, at least 4 I think it's probably more like 5 or 6, Rose was taking care of her for probably 10 or 15 minutes while I got her mother out of commission. I locked her in my office… gods I think she destroyed it too. Please tell me Claire is going to be ok."

The paramedic said, "She needs stitches, and a blood transfusion and she'll be fine. Do you know her blood type?" Robert thought about it, "no, but"….he noticed her purse was still wrapped around her; Robert opened her purse and dug through it a bit. He found her wallet, "I'm pretty sure she has given blood to the Red Cross and I think she carries a card. He found the card with relative ease; this says she's O-." The two paramedics looked at one another.

"What? What was that look about?" Robert asked impatiently.

"It's just that she can only receive blood from others with O- blood, which is relatively rare." They arrived at the hospital and Claire was rushed into the Emergency room. Robert was left waiting, it was still early and he thought it might be possible Sarah and John were still in their room, maybe, if he was just a little lucky, they hadn't left the hospital yet.

He took the elevator to the fourth floor and hurried to room 423. He found John and Sarah relaxing in the room, as he entered; he sighed and leaned against the door. "Thank all that is good in the universe, something is working for me."

Both Sarah and John were startled by the entrance of a haggard looking, bloody Robert Standish. Sarah had gotten a walking cast put on her foot that morning, but she still didn't move as quickly as John. "What the fuck happened?" John asked in a voice that was still quiet, deep and scratchy.

Robert looked down and realized he was covered in blood. He sighed again and ran his hand through his hair. Sarah said, "You might want to wash your hands before you do that again, you are covered. What happened Robert?" He walked over to the small bathroom in their room and washed his hands, and after looking in the mirror he wiped his face off too. "Karen. My fucking wife, she's what happened. I had the bitch thrown in jail. I need to get back downstairs; I thought you," he looked directly at John, "might want to come with me." He looked at Sarah,"you are of course welcome, but well, I'll explain as we move."

They moved towards the elevators, and as they waited Robert started talking. "I met with a divorce lawyer this morning; I was out of the house before 6 and expected to be home with just enough time to take Claire to school. When I got home… when I got there… I.. I can't fucking believe what I saw. Karen was beating Claire… she was backed into a corner covering her head, with blood spilling from I didn't know where at the time. I pulled Karen away from her, of course… got Claire out of the room and asked Rose to take care of her while I dealt with Karen.. fuck… she was drunk… at fucking 7am she was drunk and still drinking." Robert looked like he was in shock.

"It's her arm," Robert continued, "that…that bitch with her fucking manicured nails…. Clawed her own daughter… clawed her so badly we couldn't get the bleeding to stop. I think she lost too much blood because she went into shock. I'm just glad to find you two here… I have to call work… and Claire's school…I told her I would." He looked at John, "She was afraid you would be worried about her because she wasn't in school." He sighed and leaned against the back of the elevator. "my life has become a fucking afternoon special." They reached the first floor and were directed to the room Claire was in. She was hooked up to an IV and there were butterfly bandages on her arm. She smiled as the three entered the room. "I wondered where you went Dad," she smiled almost shyly, "Hi John," and a little tiredly she smiled at Sarah as well.

John walked up to the side of her bed, and put his hand on her head, she'd returned the bandanna from her purse to cover her missing hair. "Ya know Princess, we've got to stop meeting like this." She grabbed his uninjured hand with her uninjured arm and she pulled him down to her for a hug. She held on and put her face into his hair, just as he did hers. They held on to one another tightly for a moment, John even sat down on the bed and pulled her forward so they could continue holding on. When she finally let him go, he remained sitting on her bed, but she seemed much more like herself.

A young doctor knocked on the door causing Robert and Sarah to move further into the small room.  
>"Morning, everyone," he walked up to Claire, "looks like you've had a pretty tough day so far. I'm going to be putting in some stitches to close these wounds, hope you don't have a problem with needles."<p>

Claire smiled, "well I don't particularly like them, but it's not a phobia or anything."

The young doctor placed a number of instruments on the table, he arranged Claire's arm, and placed a cover over the rest of her arm. "I suggest you pay attention to something else. Your boyfriend would be perfect, if the two of you can chat about something; I'll be done before you know it."

John leaned over and kissed her forehead, "So apparently your mother should now be the one bowling with Sporto's old man." The statement caused them both to chuckle. They talked about music, what they'd heard from the rest of the breakfast club about school, and finally John asked, "so…. Gonna tell me what happened?"

Claire blushed, and John ran the back of his fingers down her face, "Princess, it doesn't matter what happened, as I have been told my whole fucking life, It's not your fault. There's nothing to be embarrassed about." Claire leaned into John's touch, but quietly told the story of the morning. She spoke loudly enough that her father could hear her, and she occasionally looked at him, but mostly she looked down at her hand enclosed in John's, or up at John. And as she finished the story the doctor made a final snip. "See, I was right, if you pay attention to something else the process is over in a flash. I put 38 stitches in the three scratches, the ones on your head don't seem to need replaced, but you'll need to either come back, or see your regular doctor to have these removed in a about 2 weeks." The doctor wrapped her arm in gauze. "There is still likely to be some seepage for the next 24 to 48 hours. You'll want to change the gauze a couple of times in that time, then you'll probably be fine if you only change the dressings once a day. You also need to keep it dry for at least the next day or so."

The doctor stood up, "I'll write you a script for a painkiller because in a few hours the litocaine will wear off and your arm is likely to hurt quite a lot." After that he walked out of the room.

Robert has been talking quietly to Sarah and discovered both her and John were going home shortly. She knew that they had to go to the police station then Robert planned to drop Claire off at Sarah's house so he could get a few hours' worth of work done. Within thirty minutes all of them were ready to leave the hospital. "Claire, Angel, would you like to get some lunch before we have to go to the police station?"

"Do I really have to go Daddy? Can't you just handle it?"

"I'd love to say yes Angel, but I want a restraining order against her – and I want it so she can't get to you. I'd also like you to talk to Adam, and my lawyer when you are ready. Not all of it needs to be today, but I do need to press charges, and the assault was against you. If you really are against going, I suppose I can do it, you are still a minor. Is that what you want me to do?" Robert turned in his seat to face Claire.

"Yes… no… I don't know. Ok, let's have some lunch, and maybe we could stop home and change?" Robert looked down at his clothes and chuckled. "point taken, maybe that's the first stop we should make. Do you two mind making a pit stop at our place before we take you home?"

Both Sarah and John said it wouldn't be a problem. So George, who Robert had hired to be a permanent driver, took them all to the Standish residence. As Robert opened the door he saw Rose sweeping up the mess made by Karen. "Thank you Rose, you are amazing." She smiled, "How are you feeling Claire?"

"Kind of beat up to be honest." Claire when over and kissed the woman's cheek, "Thanks for taking such good care of me."

"bah, I did nothing… Mr. Standish, I made a list of everything I found broken, but well, I haven't gone into your office, it's kind of…what's that word…daunting."

"It's fine Rose. Thank you for all you've done up to now." Robert walked into the kitchen to find Scott there, "Would you all like me to whip up something for lunch? I suppose I should get the opportunity to do my job sometimes." Scott smiled.

"I think that's a great idea, let me just check with the others." Robert walked back to the den where Sarah was sitting in a recliner and John and Claire were sitting on the couch. The tv was on some movie. "what do you all say to just having lunch here? Scott, the cook, just said he'd whip something up for us?" Everyone agreed, they didn't really want to go out so this was perfect. Robert said, "I'm going to go change, I'll be back in a few." He poked his head into the kitchen and gave Scott the thumbs up sign.

Claire pealed herself off of John and said, I am going to put on something more comfy as well. "Do you want a shower? I know you have at least one semi-clean shirt here." Claire grinned. John turned his head to Sarah, who had apparently fallen asleep. He smirked at Claire, and raised his cast. Got something I can do with this? Claire nodded, grabbed John's hand, and pulled him to the kitchen. "Scott? Could you wrap John's cast so he can shower?"

"Of course" Scott wrapped John's arm with plastic wrap. "You're all good kid. Lunch will be in about 45 minutes." With a smile, Claire grabbed John's hand and led him upstairs. At the top of the stairs, they ran into Robert. "Where are you too off to?"

Claire smiled tiredly at her dad, "I was gonna let John use my shower, see Scott wrapped his arm. I need to change into more comfortable, less bloody clothes. Did you call me into school yet? I mean, I could try to go in this afternoon if you want me to."

Robert walked over to his daughter, kissed her forehead and said, "Tomorrow will be soon enough, Are you coming to the station with me?" Claire shook her head no, "please don't make me." Robert looked at the blood covered blouse and skirt, "Ok Angel, I'll handle it. But I think you should give me those clothes, and it's possible my lawyer will need them."

Claire nodded sadly, "I'll bring them back out."

Robert arched an eyebrow, "no funny business in there. Lunch in about 30, alright?"

John raised his casted arm which was wrapped in cellophane. "Really Sir, I promise to keep my hand off your girl." He smirked and followed Claire into her bedroom quickly.

As Claire shut the door the both began laughing almost uncontrollably. She caught her breath, "John you are so bad, it's not like you don't have two hands."

He smirked and pulled her closer with his good hand, "Yeah, Princess, I know." He began kissing her deeply; she turned him and walked him backwards towards the bed, when they reached the bed she pushed him down and straddled him. John laughed and ran his hand up and down her side. "I thought I was supposes to shower Cherry."

"Yeah, we'll get to that." She leaned down and began kissing him… they spent several minutes making out before John flipped her over and began rubbing himself against her while continuing to kiss all over her face and down her neck. He kissed the place between her breasts and nipped her neck. "Babe, if we don't stop this soon, I'm not gonna be able to. I sure as hell don't want to, but well, I don't want your old man busting in here either…" He nipped her neck and stood up.

Claire continued to lie on her bed looking thoroughly ravished. "You look awfully tasty like that princess." He gave her a fairly arrogant smirk and walked into the bathroom. He poked his head out, "you got that shirt of mine?"

Claire got up and walked over to a pile of clothes, she grabbed John's Iron Maiden shirt and tossed it to him. John barked a laugh that sounded very scratchy, "I didn't even know you had this one Cherry. How in the hell are you stealing my clothes? Never mind, I don't want to know." He closed the door and Claire heard the shower start. She opened her closet and closed it again. She walked to her dresser and pulled out a blouse with bell sleeves so it wouldn't brush too hard against her arm, which was starting to hurt. She went to the pile of clothes she'd grabbed John's shirt from and pulled on a pair of jeans. She sat down at her vanity to redo her make up some, but then decided against it, she was just too tired to care.

John walked out of the bathroom in just his jeans, the t-shirt was thrown over his shoulder, and he was drying his hair. "Do you have a comb I can use Cherry?" His smile grew into an arrogant smirk when he realized Claire was staring at his chest. "Hey babe, I'm up here…" The comment made Claire blush deeply. "Sorry, you half dressed is kind of distracting." He pulled the shirt over his head and grinned, "Better."

Claire grinned and stood up. She leaned in and kissed him, "nope. Sadly, we have to go have lunch anyway." They left the room hand in hand to join the adults for lunch.

A restraining order was put in place so that Karen could not come within 500 feet of Claire or Robert. Claire spoke to her father's lawyer about the abuse from her mother. It was very difficult for her as she realized the enormity of what was happening set in. Robert dropped her off at Sarah's house for the afternoon, she spent the afternoon either sleeping or crying on John's shoulder. He didn't really know what to do, but he held her and let her get it out. She was completely exhausted so her father called her in for Thursday as well.

Claire talked John into coming in to school with her on Friday. That morning Robert dropped Claire off, "Are you ready for this?" Claire nodded. "I'm good, and besides see there's John, and everyone." She gave her father a kiss on the cheek and got out of the car. Claire was wearing a pair of black jeans with black boots, and a long, deep rose colored sweater with bell sleeves. She ignored all the girls calling her name and practically ran over to John.

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	32. Chapter 32

John walked to school, over Sarah's protests. She wasn't going in today so she saw no reason he couldn't just drive her car. He said he just wanted some time to think before the day got started; he arrived early enough to smoke a bowl from the last of his stash, and then meet up with a guy from whom he bought another quarter. He figured it would make the weekend easier. He realized he hadn't wanted it like he usually did because of the distinct lack of drama over the last 24 hours or so. It was a nice change of pace.

He had his back to the parking lot, smoking a cigarette when Sporto and Allison arrived. He turned and waved them over. Allison squeaked and hugged him; he chuckled and shook hands with Andy around the girl. She started talking quickly, "It's so great to have you back. I was beginning to worry we'd never get to see you or Claire again. Is she coming in today?" John nodded, and pointed to the arriving car. "I actually have an excuse through Monday. What are the chances I'd show up if my Cherry didn't talk me into it? Have you ever met me before Klepto?"

Andy laughed, and noticed Claire completely ignored her name being called and was all but running towards Bender. She practically threw herself at him, put her face in his neck and hair and inhaled. She felt calmer. In his ear she whispered, "thanks for teaching me that trick, well, and letting me do it here." She kissed his neck and let him go. "Hi" she said quietly to the other couple. "Allison, you should be proud of me, I got out of my dad's care without any appearance of panic…well until I heard my name called. It's one of the reasons I kind of rushed over."

The four of them chatted for a few minutes when from seemingly out of nowhere Brian appeared. He was greeted with brief hellos by Ali and Sporto, a handshake and "how's it hangin big bri?" from John. Brian was about to ask about his voice when Claire hugged him and asked how he was doing.

"Fine, I'm fine, no… good really. There's this new girl in the Latin club who I've been talking to … and well my folks have been laying off since I was court ordered to counseling for bringing a gun to school. My counselor, he pulled my mom into his office to talk to her alone, and I was kind of worried you know; I mean they are supposed to be confidential and all, but I just didn't know. She didn't say anything when she came out, but well they, my parents I mean, have been like laying off me and stuff, even about college. I almost don't know what to do." He grinned, and said, "I should be asking, how are you? Are you two even supposed to be back yet?"

John smirked a little but didn't respond except to look at Claire with a raised eyebrow. "Well we could have stayed home till Monday, but I kind of missed you guys and I am afraid I am already so far behind I am never going to catch up. Well and family stuff is just weird right now. I think I feel more at home over at Sarah's. My father has gotten all protective, but the dinner he brought over was good, wasn't it?"

"It certainly didn't suck, but having to watch the two of them fail at flirting was almost pathetic wouldn't you say Princess?" Claire laughed at John's comment but nodded. Claire had been holding John's hand and had let go to begin clenching and unclenching her hands. John tilted his head, "What's wrong?" None of the others had noticed anything and so were startled by the question, and to some degree that he would notice when no one else had. Claire sighed, "I have to go talk to them at some point." She nodded up to the popular set that kept looking down at them.

"You are on your own there cherry, I am here and I might even attend classes, but I am not going to talk to those people, at least not today." John said, noting that his voice was going away again. "Christ I can barely fucking talk at all, let alone to people I don't like. Besides, it will be fun to watch you walk away." He smirked at her and kissed her shoulder.

Claire squared her shoulders, smoothed the new scarf she'd bought over her head, and looked at Allison, "any chance you'll come for moral support?" Allison shrugged, "If you want me to I guess, but I don't know how much support I'll be." Claire grabbed her hand, "I need all the help I can get right now." She winked at John as she walked away, and deliberately swished her hips a bit more than necessary which received whistles from John that made Claire and Allison giggle.

The two girls walked up the stairs towards the girls who had called Claire's name when she got out of her dad's car. She was immediately hugged by several of them including: Jenn, and Tiffany, another girl in the clique. "We were beginning to think you'd never be back. How are you feeling? Obviously still in a weird state considering the odd fashion statement of a head scarf and ignoring us completely for Bender, but we really missed you, so we can totally overlook the little things."

Claire was instantly irritated by their commentary. "I had to get stitches in my head and the scarf protects them; besides, I kind of like it. As for Bender, he's my boyfriend; of course I'll ignore you for him." Several people around them gasped.

Jenn said, "You are kidding, of course. Girls like you don't have boyfriends like him."

Claire tilted her head, she knew she looked very good today; her make-up had been a success at covering all the bruising on her face, and she looked great in the outfit she was wearing. "What, exactly, do you mean by that Jenn? What kind of girl am I? And why wouldn't I date John?" Claire's voice was soft, but if you listened, you could tell she was pissed.

"You are Claire Standish, super rich, super popular, and everyone loves you. Bender is a criminal and no one likes him. There I've said what everyone was thinking." Jenn said this with her hand on her hip.

Claire started laughing, "Christ, I can't believe I really thought you were better than this. So I am super popular? What were you doing while Steph Rodgers was giving me a concussion? What about when she said I was nothing and nobody? You followed her out of the room like sheep rather than helping me. You are arrogant condescending bitches; if you can manage to jump off that pedestal you've placed yourself on and join the real world perhaps we can be friends again. Until then I will be over there with my _boyfriend_, John Bender. Who, by the way, is more real than any of you.

One of the jocks spoke up, "He knock you up or something Standish?"

Claire spun around to face the group of sports who were hanging out with the popular click. "No, that would be something far more up your alley Billy, weren't you one of the guys who hurt Miss Dearing? You know, I'd watch my back if I were you." With that Claire walked back to her friends, who'd apparently been both listening and watching the whole time.

The gang began applauding her, "You've sure grown some big brass ones, Cherry. I didn't even know I needed my honor defended." He smirked at her, but pulled her in close and after an extended hug; she spun in his arms to look at her other friends. "So I think I have managed to completely alienate all the fuckers who used to call themselves my friends, think you all will have me if I keep the drama to a minimum?"

All of them laughed at Claire's statement, including Claire, and they all agreed she could be a part of their special club. As they were calming down the bell rang. Everyone started heading for the door; Claire arched a brow at Bender, "coming inside or no?" He sighed, "I'd better come in or I'll get a tongue lashing from our favorite English teacher." The two climbed the steps hand in hand to be greeted by Vernon at the door. "Welcome back, you two. Bender, do you think you can stop the graffiti project? I can't even figure out who's doing it and it keeps getting… worse."

John looked at him like he might have grown a second head, "Uh, I'll see what I can do V-Man… I heard you came to visit. Thanks." He moved inside as quickly as possible, and whispered to Claire. "Ok, so the twilight zone episode hasn't ended. Cherry, did I really just hear Vernon ask for my help?"

She was grinning like a Cheshire cat, "Yep, you did; though, I am kind of looking forward to seeing some of this wall art." John laughed, "Me too, so I guess we'll see how much we like it before we decide whether or not we are gonna help V-Man out." John walked Claire to her locker and kissed her thoroughly; Claire wrapped her arms up around his neck and kissed him back just as deeply. She whispered, "I think….I think I love you." John pulled back and looked at her, he nodded and in his now deep, scratchy voice.. "yeah princess, I think I feel the same way. Now that we've got that out of the way, think we can skip class and walk around looking at the new art on the walls?"

Claire laughed her arms still around his neck, "I don't think that would go over so well with Miss Dearing."

John shook his head causing his hair to fall over his forehead, "fuck, I knew there was a downside to this straight shit." Claire brushed his hair back the way she always did, "There are upsides too, and besides – no one says you have to change…I mean aside from showing up to your classes, at least sometimes. How about over lunch?"

"How about over lunch what?" Claire let her head drop back as she laughed, "How about we check out the new wall art, and maybe compare graffiti notes. Gotta work on that short term memory, burn out." John smirked at her, "you wouldn't have me any other way, preppy."

"You're probably right, but _I am_ going to class…" she spun in his arms and bent over with him behind her, his hands on her hips, and knowing she was probably being a terrible tease. She grabbed her notebooks for the next few classes, stood up, and leaned against him. "you know, you were right, I am kind of a tease aren't I?" She turned around to find John's jaw hanging just a bit open, his eyes a little glazed, and she went up on her toes to kiss his neck. "See, I'm one of those upsides; I'll be honest, I'm still not sure of my balance and well I trust you to catch me if I fall." Claire smiled almost shyly.

John smiled and shook his head, "who knew it'd be a cherry who was gonna be the death of me." He dropped his arms and leaned into her, while simultaneously pulling her closer, to show her just how much he was affected by what she'd done. "Problem is I think we both need to heal a little before I can show you just how much I appreciate you. However, I believe I will make you pay for that little display." He adjusted himself, closed his eyes for a minute, and moved away from her. "Don't try that again or I am not to be blamed for my actions," He growled at her.

Claire blushed and said, "If I kiss you again I'll never go to class. So, uhm, see you later?" John nodded and walked away. Claire watched him go.

"Damn Claire, I think you made everyone in the hallway hot with that little interaction, who knew just watching people, could do that, especially when one of them is Bender" said one of Claire 'old' friends, Lauren. She had not participated in any of the problems Claire had had, and she was a known rival of Steph's. She had rarely spoken to Claire before.

Claire blushed deeply when she realized the number of people who had seen at least some part of her discussion with John, although she was sure he blocked the worst, or maybe best, of it. "Hi Lauren, uh, how are you?"

Lauren chuckled softly, "I know we've not exactly been friends in the past, but well, I'd like to change that, if you are interested. And I promise never to drag you into any of my crap with Steph if you'll do the same."

Claire tilted her head and looked at the girl for a moment. When she'd arrived at Shermer she'd been kind of a nerd. She was incredibly smart, but once her braces and glasses had gone away she became popular. Claire shrugged, "why not, everyone could use more friends."

Just then Brian came up, "Claire!"

"Yeah Brian, and you don't have to yell. My hearing wasn't damaged."

He blushed a little, "sorry, uh… I just wanted to say I was really glad you were back, and I, uh, well I forgot to give you this earlier. I took the liberty of getting your homework while you were gone… and uh, well… here." He handed her a small binder, when she opened it, she found mostly completed homework. Claire hugged him, "You are the best!"

Lauren stuck out her hand to Brian when Claire let him go, she'd started looking through the work. "Hi, uh, I'm Lauren. I don't think we've ever been properly introduced."

Brian turned a little red again as the beautiful raven haired girl, who he knew was in the popular set, introduced her to him as though he were, he didn't know… somebody. "Hi, uh, I'm Brian.

She laughed, "I know who you are, and we're in like four classes together silly." Brian stuttered a little in response, "yeah, I know, but I didn't think you knew my name." She smiled, "of course I do. In fact, we have calculus in about two minutes, but I wanted to talk to Claire before well, it was too late and all."

Claire watched this little interaction with great interest; she thought they may have forgotten she was even there. She cleared her throat, "well I'm off to class. Brian you are amazing, and I guess I'll see you both later." She walked down the hall to her history class.

The rest of the morning was pretty quiet although she saw some of the most disgusting things she'd ever seen written pretty much everywhere about Steph Rodgers. The class just before lunch was the only class Steph shared with Claire … this left Claire a little nervous. She was standing just outside the door to her class looking for John, or Ali, or anyone. She was beginning to have trouble breathing. Claire realized she was afraid to go in there and see Steph, a girl she'd known since grade school. Really, really afraid, and she didn't know how to make it stop. She went into the nearest bathroom to try and calm down.

Claire willed herself to stop shaking, she focused on not crying… she did all of the rituals that normally calmed her down…. She combed her hair, and she touched up her make-up especially because tears were now rolling down her face. The bell rang while she was standing there; she walked over to the door and opened it, just as Steph walked into class. Claire only saw her back, but she couldn't do it, she couldn't walk into that room so she looked both ways and walked over to the stairs.

She went out the side door John told her about and walked over to the bleachers. It was the beginning of April and the wind was still cold, she wished she'd gone to her locker to get her coat, but she kept walking. She noticed there were a couple of people under the bleachers… and one had… she didn't think she could possibly get this lucky… but the closer she got the more convinced she was that John was standing under the bleachers. Claire started to run, there were still tears running down her face, and she couldn't stop them. She was still having trouble catching her breath too, so running was hard. But she just had to reach him.

John finally couldn't do it anymore, he'd gone to two of his classes but his math class was dead boring and the teacher was a jackass, so he ducked outside at the end of his last class, thinking maybe he could smoke a bowl and maybe catch up with some buddies. Spaz and Tony were there two guys he smoked with regularly. They'd been talking for a few minutes and Tony was about to light up a joint when out of the corner of his eye he thought he saw Claire.

He took a toke and then saw someone running, and he realized it was Claire. "Uh guys, I'll be back." John saw her running towards him, but realized she was having trouble. He got to the edge of the bleachers and looked both directions to make sure there wasn't anyone else outside, and then he had two arms full of a sobbing Claire Standish. He folded her into his long coat before he even noticed she was shivering. She wrapped herself around him and let herself cry while trying to catch her breath. "Hey Princess, babe, Claire sweetheart what the fuck is wrong? What happened?" She shook her head, while he had no idea what that fucking meant he remembered her telling him about what Allison had done. "Cherry breathe, come on; breathe for me, in and out… nice and steady." He made it almost a command even though he had next to no voice. It seemed to do the trick though; Claire started to calm down. "You ok Princess?" She nodded, "do you mind me hanging with you and your friends this period? I, uh, I can't go to class."

"Of course I don't mind, come on." He pulled her to his side, keeping her as much under his coat as he could. He walked back to his buddies, who had witnessed the interaction even if they were too far to hear what was being said. "There any more of that joint T?" Spaz handed him a little less than half a joint.

He looked at Claire, "want to try something? I can promise it'll make you feel better."

Claire shrugged a little and nodded a little. She felt like she was falling apart, and she was willing to try anything with John, she realized in that moment she trusted him more than she had any boy ever. John took a deep drag off the joint, and he leaned down and kissed her. He didn't even have to lick her lips, she opened her mouth and realized she was supposed to inhale the smoke he was blowing into her mouth. She pulled out of the kiss to exhale, and then she blushed. This made all three guys chuckle. "Cherry, I think you just made their year."

Spaz spoke up first, "Damn I wish I could get my girl to do that."

John looked at him like he was kind of dumb, "her old man is a cop, you got a death wish?"

Spaz shrugged, "you're probably right." Tony nodded to her and said, "Nice to meet you, I'm tony, but I was about to blow this popcorn stand. Any of you with me?"

They all said their various forms of no, and watched him walk off school property. Spaz also said his goodbyes, mentioning that his girl Lisa had lunch that period – he was gonna try and catch her before the next period. John pulled Claire over to his favorite spot beneath the bleachers. He packed a small bowl and shared it with her. "You gonna let me know what happened there, Princess?"

The smoke settled her nerves, and she still leaned into John's warmth. "I have class with Steph this period… and like, even thinking about like being that close to her caused one of those… you know… panic things… and so I was gonna just ditch and stuff…when I walked out the door I was careful… but then it got hard to breathe...then I saw you and I knew if I could just get to you, you'd make it better." Claire buried her face against him. "I am so totally pathetic."

John let her have her meltdown and when she stopped he pulled her chin up. He was wearing his denim jacket, and he had a glove on the hand without the cast, which was now covered in signatures and pictures. Claire was warmer now sitting in John's long coat; she didn't know what John liked about her she couldn't get through half a day without running to him like some clingy little girl. He had problems of his own; he didn't need her dumping all her problems on him.

John leaned in and kissed Claire, he started softly but they ended up stretched out on the ground making out. John rolled over, "well first, there is that… I ain't never felt anything like that Cherry? And that's just kissing you. On that other stuff, look, if I didn't want to listen I wouldn't. When you are upset, fuck Claire, nothing in the world matters but making you smile again. Don't you get that? As for being pathetic, no that would have been going to talk to the fuckin school counselor. That bitch hurt you, and since you won't let me kill them I'm gonna be here to take care of you when you get scared. That's why I came in today, remember?" He pulled her close to him; she laid her head on his chest. Claire whispered, "thank you."

"It was nothing Princess. Did I do my job? You feeling better?" John asked playfully. Claire nodded and held on a little tighter.


	33. Chapter 33

John and Claire lay under the bleachers alternately making out and relaxing against one another until the period ended. "Think we should go to lunch? It's about to get pretty busy out here." John commented as he sat up. He helped Claire sit up, and watched her wince. "Your back still sore?" She nodded, "yeah, everything else seems better, but my back hurts all the time."

The two made their way over to the parking lot where they could easily slip into the lunch room. As they got closer to the building John noticed Claire hands begin to tremble. He kissed her head and softly said, "I'm not gonna let anything happen to you, Princess. You're safe." Claire took a deep breath and seemed to calm down, though John noticed she was constantly playing with the ring he gave her.

"Do you ever take that ring off?" John asked. Claire shook her head, "why would I?"

John shrugged, "I just hope it doesn't turn you green or anything." Claire stopped walking and pulled John to a stop as well. "You do realize what you gave me right?" John blinked at her a little, "A ring that apparently belonged to my mother."

Claire held her hand up so they were both looking at the ring on her finger, "It's antique, so it belonged to someone before your mother. John this is solid gold with a pretty large emerald and three diamonds around it" She held it closer to him. "Did you even look at it before you gave it to me?" He nodded, "Yeah, but I wasn't sure it was real." She leaned up and kissed him on the cheek, "let me assure you, as a Richie, preppy princess, there is nothing about this ring which is fake."

John smirked, "so, kinda like the diamond you gave me?"

Claire laughed a little, and put a hand up on John's cheek. "Sweetheart, it's probably worth twice or three times the earring. This is, I think, an engagement ring from someone a long time ago. I don't know the history of it, but with a ring of this kind there's probably paperwork someplace."

John's eyes widened, "Uh, I, uh... didn't know." Claire smiled, "John Bender, calm down. I didn't think it was a proposal."

He got all cool and said, "yeah, I knew that."

She shook her head and still holding his hand she pulled him gently towards the lunch room. They entered and saw Brian and Allison sitting at a table, Andy was sitting with his wrestling buddies. The couple walked up and sat down the table with the former outcasts. Brian was startled by their appearance, "Hi, I didn't see you guys come in. How's your morning been?"

In unison they said, "Alright," then looked at each other and laughed. Claire realized her lunch was still in her locker. "Shit. I have to go to my locker, that's where my lunch is." John asked, "Want I should go with?" Claire leaned in and kissed John. "I think I'll be ok, if I'm not back in like 5 minutes you can send out a search party."

John laughed, "alright then, but don't think I won't if you're not back. I have paranoid issues about you disappearing." Claire chuckled as she walked away, "well, good, I feel the same way." She walked to her locker grabbed the bag with lunches for both her and John. It was a surprise for him. She made her way back to the lunch room without a problem. When she walked in, however, she was confronted by Steph Rodgers and several of her cronies. "So I hear you really are dating that delinquent Bender."

Claire arched a brow, "and you are dating that criminal Strickler, do you have a point? Or are you just trying to keep me from eating my lunch?" Claire was fingering her ring and drawing a mantle of … badassness or something around her, she was trying to learn from John and Allison. She wasn't going to let her fear of this girl control her whole school life. She couldn't, but she was having trouble breathing, and she had to find a way to get away from Steph.

Steph and several other girls stood in her way, basically surrounding her – she had a choice deal with these girls or leave – her back was to the door and she didn't want to leave, so she tried being the bitch she had always appeared to be, "Are you looking for another suspension? See I thought you were on academic probation or something." Steph started clenching her fists and screaming in Claire's face about what a fucking whore she was. She'd heard from her mother that she'd spent days fucking Bender and who knew what she was gonna catch from that burn out.

The gang all noticed what was going on near the door, as did everyone in the lunch room. Brian said, "I figure you guys can extricate Claire, I am going to get Vernon… he swore if that bitch Stephanie stepped out of line he'd expel her." He jumped up and went running to the office. Andy chuckled, "I think I ought to talk to that kid about trying out for track. So how are we going to do this? I think it needs to happen soon." Andy added.

John and Andy got up and walked over to the group of girls who were blocking the door. John tapped a girl on the shoulder, "excuse me." The girl jumped away and yelped as though she'd been burned. The girls parted in front of John who was followed by Andy. Finally John reached Steph who was still yelling in Claire's face. John could see that Claire was shaking and clenching her teeth, signaling to him that she was keeping herself under a desperate kind of control. John tapped Steph on her shoulder; she spun around and practically screamed, "What the fuck do you want? Didn't I tell you just to wait behind me?"

John arched an eyebrow, "Nope, can't say that you did. However, you are in the way of my girlfriend, who really has no desire to be anywhere fucking near you. Not that I blame her, you really are one ugly cunt. Now, I think you should fucking move, before I move you."

Steph wrinkled her nose like she smelled something bad and she turned back towards Claire. "Do you need another broken nose? Or are you gonna just disappear like the losers you hang out with?" John tilted his head and looked at Claire; she smiled at him in thanks. Just his presence made things easier.

"I am not going anywhere, and I would say, from the walls of the school, that the only loser here is you. Now please excuse me before I repay you for the concussion."

"Really bitch, I don't think you are even capable." Steph put her hands on her hips trying to look tough, though her very preppy outfit didn't really fit the image.

"John would you move from behind her? I don't want her to touch you, in anyway." John moved to the side and before Stephanie was prepared, Claire punched her with a swift right hook. Steph stumbled backwards, everyone parted, and she fell to her ass, twisting an ankle because she was wearing 3 in spiked heels. Blood was pouring out of her nose and she was holding the side of her face screaming.

No one rushed to her help except for two sophomore girls who thought she was amazing. "Help me the fuck up." They tried several times to help her up, and finally managed it. One of them had run to get towels to stop her nose from bleeding. They helped her limp to the bathroom; she couldn't put much weight on the twisted ankle. What Claire thought was most interesting was everyone simply going back to their lunch.

Claire walked forward and wrapped her arms around John, putting her face in his chest she felt like she could breathe him in and it made the whole world a better place. At the same time John had his face in her hair doing something very similar. "You were pretty spectacular there Princess. Sit?" She nodded, he grabbed her lunch bag. "This is heavier than your normal raw fish." She smiled. "Who knows what Scott put in there, it was ready when I came down for school."

As the two of them sat down again, Brian came walking into the lunchroom with Vernon behind him, from the opposite door Stephanie Rodgers came limping in with the two young girls baring most of her weight. She screamed, "Principal Vernon that… that bitch hit me!" She pointed at Claire.

Claire reached into the bag and pulled out two plates. She opened each of them; one contained a salad with salmon on the side, the other contained strips of steak, fries, and coleslaw. She pushed the second towards John. "I am certainly not eating that. I think our cook likes you." She chuckled as John eyed the lunch and looked back towards Claire. "You didn't have to do that, you know."

Claire raised her hands in surrender, "I did nothing, swear it; I didn't even ask him to pack me a lunch. You can ask Scott."

John shook his head, but began eating, "How in the hell is the steak warm, the fries crunchy, and the coleslaw cool? Is he a fuckin magician?"

Claire was eating her salad and shrugged. "Anything is possible. This salmon is perfect, and it shouldn't be hours after it was cooked." Claire continued eating as Steph shrieked in Vernon's face. "Calm yourself Miss Rodgers. Now please tell me what happened from the beginning, without screaming please."

Steph took a deep breath, "I was headed to the ladies room, when from out of nowhere Standish hauled off and punched me. Ask anyone."

Vernon called a couple of students, who were sitting at a table nearest to the doors to the ladies room, "Can you corroborate her story?" They claimed they had no idea what she was talking about. They hadn't seen anything. The same was true of nearly everyone Vernon spoke to, no one saw anything.

Vernon suggested Stephanie get herself the nurse, and perhaps start wearing more sensible shoes.

He walked up to the table Claire was sitting at; Vernon took a deep breath, "So what happened?" Claire looked up at him, "How much trouble will I get in for being honest?"

Vernon cocked an eyebrow, "You all but just admitted it."

Claire finished chewing a bite of her lunch, and nodded, "all but."

Vernon rolled his eyes, sighed and sat down at the table with the rest of the breakfast club, who all looked at him like he was a new and different kind of alien than usual. Vernon put his elbows up on the table and ran his hands through his hair. "Look, whatever happened, I am willing to lay bets she deserved it, but I do need to know what happened. Be honest with me and there will be no recriminations, especially since no one in this lunchroom saw anything."

Claire raised her eyebrows as much as her healing black eyes would allow, "No recriminations?" Vernon nodded, Claire put down her fork, "just being near that girl gives me the beginnings of a panic attack, I was working very hard on not hyperventilating while she was screaming in my face," and even though she couldn't look up at Vernon or anyone else she related some of the things Stephanie was screaming at her. "I realized all her so called supporters had pretty much moved away from her and I just couldn't help it Mr. Vernon, she gave me a damn concussion, so I punched her."

Vernon nodded, "thank you, and for what it's worth, if she screamed half of that to me I'd have decked her too. Uh, any luck on getting the graffiti competition to end?"

John looked up at him for a moment, "I'll be honest, I haven't figured out exactly who is doing it all, but I'll continue this afternoon. I have kind of an idea that just might get it over with."

"Whatever you need to do Bender, it's going up faster than Carl and his team can repaint." With that he walked out of the lunchroom.

When he was gone they all kind of burst out laughing. Andy spoke up, "So you have a plan to stop the graffiti? Or were you just blowing smoke up Vernon's ass so he'd leave?"

John finished the last of his fries and said, "nah, I figured I'd tell everyone the contest was over and give like first, second, and third prize for the most creative ones," he said with a grin.

The rest of the day was quiet, though Steph Rodgers was sporting a blooming black eye, a storm cloud above her head, and her gym shoes with quite the limp, no one seemed to care. Claire got a fairly strange number of pats on the back and congrats from people she didn't even know. Before she knew it, the bell rang for the end of the day. While at her locker gathering things for the weekend, Claire felt a familiar pair of hands on her hips. "I still haven't paid you back for your little, shall we say, tease, this morning Miss Standish."John said with a growl then proceeded to bite the back of her neck the way a predator might, and suck till she was sure to have a huge hickey. When he pulled back Claire spun in his arms and kissed him thoroughly. "For some reason, John Bender, I think I like being marked by you."

He gave her a wolfish grin. "good." The two spent about an hour walking hand in hand around the school looking at the various graffiti, and even John had to admit it was getting a bit excessive. They met up with the rest of the breakfast club at a coffee shop not far from school and determined the winners of the graffiti contest.

The following Monday, on the steps of the school Andy whistled for everyone's attention, and somehow Brian came up with a bull horn so John wouldn't have to strain his still low, growly voice. "May I have your attention please, I, excuse me, we, "and he pulled Claire close to him, "are here to announced the winners of Shermer's first graffiti contest." There were hoots and hollers and even the kids who normally hung out far away from the front steps came close. "Third place, for great color, but according to my beautiful girlfriend terrible grammar goes to – "Rodgers sux cock free charge." There was much laughing and a few boos.

At this point both Principal Anderson and Vice Principal Vernon came out to see what the gathering was about. John stopped to confer with the group for a moment, "Second place, for excellent creativity and decent tagging style goes to "Strickler and Rodgers deserve all venereal diseases known to man." Again there was a great deal of laughter and a couple of high fives. It was obvious that John's voice was getting growlier with every word so Claire grabbed the bullhorn, "And first place for creativity, amazing use of color and tagging style goes to "Steph and Tommy deserve the best dick prison has to offer." There were cheers from many of the students, and nearly as much laughter. Principal Anderson looked at Vernon who shrugged. They almost missed Claire continuing. "We want to thank everyone who participated in the competition and ask that no more entries be placed." For that there was much booing and howling.

The bell rang and students began filing into the school. Claire wrapped her arms around John and whispered into his ear. "You are a genius." Bender answered her comment with a very thorough kiss which was interrupted by the clearing of someone's throat. They looked up to see Principal Anderson standing on the steps above them. "I'm not sure if I should say thank you or give you a good lecture, but I have to say that was creative as hell. And now we know at least some of the perpetrators." John shrugged, "I do what I can to help Sir." He wrapped his arm firmly around Claire's waist and the two of them entered the building.

The next several weeks were pretty calm by comparison to the weeks prior for the members of the Breakfast Club. There were changes though, Claire's mother moved out of their house, taking or destroying a lot of things as she left. One Saturday afternoon, when she knew Robert was away on business Karen showed up at the house to see what else she wanted. She spent at least an hour screeching at Claire about how it was her fault it was all happening and she wished Claire had never been born, while either packing or smashing sometimes priceless items and antiques. Because she was afraid of her own mother Claire's reaction, after about an hour of trying to save items she had grown up with, was to leave; she walked to Sarah's house, let herself in through the back door, and curled up on John's bed and cried herself to sleep.

As it turned out, John and Sarah were at the lawyer's office; Robert had set them up with an excellent lawyer because he knew both Jason and Tommy would have one. They each went over their story in detail and discussed all the possibilities of this going to trial. After spending several hours in a lawyer's office which was more posh than either of them had expected, they decided to grab a bite to eat and pick up some groceries. As they arrived home John instantly knew someone had either been there or was still there. He stopped several feet inside the doorway. "Someone's been here," he said in a voice which was still low, growly, and prone to disappearing entirely even weeks after the incident.

Sarah pushed past him with the groceries she had in her hands, though John had taken the heaviest in his one hand. "What makes you say that?"

John shrugged, "my gut, years of being wary… take your pick." He dropped the bags he had in the kitchen and said, "I'll be right back." He walked carefully around the house, arriving lastly at his own bedroom door. He opened it to find Claire curled up and asleep. With a deep sigh both of relief and worry he closed the door quietly and made his way back to the kitchen. "Least my instincts are still intact. Claire's asleep in my room." Without further comment he began helping Sarah put the groceries away. When they were finished, John opened the kitchen window then sat down and packed a bowl, which he handed to Sarah first. "I know how much this morning sucked for you. I wanted to beat the shit out of that little fucker again just hearing about it." Sarah chuckled and lit the pipe, and handed it to John. She blew out the smoke and said, "Yeah, I kind of wanted to take a brick to his old man's head listening to you too. Were you supposed to meet Claire today?"

John shook his head as they finished smoking what he packed and both lit cigarettes. "She was going to spend the day studying or something we were gonna go to the movies tomorrow. And well, the way she is curled up around my pillow and wearing one of my flannels makes me think something is wrong, figured I'd do this then go check on her." He finished smoking first, and motioned with his head, silently asking if she minded if he took off. She waved him away and opened a magazine.

John walked quietly into his bedroom kicked off his boots and climbed into his bed, spooning himself around his beautiful girlfriend. He gently rubbed her arm as he curled himself closer to her. His voice was still low, even so, he whispered, "Evening Princess, how'd I get so lucky as to find you in my bed?" She snuggled herself back into John's warmth and muttered something vaguely like English in her sleep. John chuckled and looked back at his alarm clock, it was 7pm. "Claire sweetheart, wake up some," he rubbed her shoulder a bit and she whimpered. The whimper worried him some, so he moved the flannel shirt off her shoulder to see a large bruise, which immediately worried and pissed him off. He put the shirt back on her shoulder since she was wearing a spaghetti strapped shirt tank top. He moved his hand below arm, and rubbed her side and belly. "Hey Babe, Cherry, come on wake up for me love." She stretched and snuggled into John a little more. He took the opportunity to whisper in her ear, "If you want to remain a cherry much longer I suggest you stop wiggling you ass against me like that." He kissed her neck.

Claire turned her face to him, winced a bit at the movement, but started kissing him and used the kiss to turn the rest of her body to face him. When they broke from the kiss for air Claire blushed and hid her face a little, "Hi," she said quietly.

He tilted her face up to him; the bruises around her face had mostly faded. "So beautiful, how'd I get so fucking lucky as to find you here, in my bed?" She snuggled into his warmth. "I don't want to think about it. Can I stay here for a while, like dinner and stuff?" He chuckled, "I'm sure your staying is not a problem, I'll even ask Sarah if you want. However, your puffy eyes say you cried yourself to sleep, and where the fuck did the giant bruise on your arm come from? Talk to me a little, Cherry; then I promise to let it go, for now."

She sighed and snuggled into John's arms, "If I say my mother was at the house will it be enough?" John growled, it was a benefit of this new voice, he sounded pretty menacing when he growled. "What about the restraining order?" Claire shrugged carefully, "I woke up from a nap and she was there… Dad is on a business trip so after an hour of her basically screaming and destroying things I left. I didn't duck fast enough when she smashed one of the antiques my way... thus the bruise."

"Christ Cherry, I'm sorry your old lady is such a fucking bitch. You can stay the weekend if Rob's gonna be away and the bitch is at your house. Lemme just check with Sarah." He started to roll away and Claire grabbed him, "don't go yet." She kissed his neck, his adams apple, and his voice box. "How's your hand? And uhm… would you… never mind." She snuggled in putting her head against his chest to listen to his heartbeat.

"Hey, we talked about that, remember, big fight… no saying never mind, tell me what's goin' on, Princess." He moved away a little and tilted her head up.

"It's stupid, and I am kind of afraid of your answer."

"You should tell me anyway. I happen to like you a lot; it makes me willing to put up with stupid… so what is it?" John asked.

Very quietly Claire whispered, "Prom. It's like two weeks away, and I haven't got a dress, or a date or anything… and I don't want to force you into anything…and it used to be everything to me…everything just changed so fast, I don't know quite what to do…I want to go, but I can't go alone."

John closed his eyes, figuring he was going to some kind of special hell but made a decision. "It's the end of May, yeah?" She nodded. "Look, I'm supposed to get this plaster monster off my hand next week, it goes into a soft kind a cast… and if that happens… fuck, Princess. Will you go to Prom with me?"

Claire sat straight up, rolled John over, straddled him and kissed all over his face. "You are the most amazing guy ever! I love you so much! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Just seeing Claire this happy made his stomach do flip flops. He gave her a smirk, "you know I am just trying to get into those cute panties, right?" She smacked his chest. "yeah, but I love you anyway." She threw her head back and yelled, "I love John Bender." Then she looked down at him, "even if you are a kind of a pig." Then she stretched her body over his and started kissing him again. It was a while before either of them made it out to talk to Sarah about Claire staying the weekend.


	34. Chapter 34

I hope you like this chapter... warning this chapter has some really racy stuff at the end... and general disclaimer: I don't own any of the BC characters, or anything else from the movie...

Claire had fallen asleep again, so John took the time to go smoke a cigarette and talk to Sarah. He found her sitting in the living room reading a book. She joked, "I was beginning to wonder if I should send a rescue team, but decided I really didn't want to know, and figured you'd get hungry eventually."

John chuckled. "Apparently her old man is out of town so her bitch of a ma decided to ransack the house again. Claire has a monster bruise on her shoulder – told me she didn't duck fast enough when the bitch threw something." He sighed. "I never figured a princess like her would have these kinds of problems, ya know? I thought her life was fuckin' perfect and shit. Can she stay the night or weekend? I think she's afraid to go home."

Sarah looked carefully at John; he no longer looked battered, except for the cast on his hand. His hair had gotten even longer, and he'd filled out some from eating regularly. She arched an eyebrow, "What was her hollering about earlier? I really don't want to have to tell her father you knocked her up."

John laughed, "Christ, I haven't really gotten to second base, we're a ways from that being a problem, and I ain't stupid ya know. I fucking asked her to prom. I can't believe I have sunk this low, but seeing her so happy just well, just made my god damned day."

Sarah smiled, "I was wondering what was going to happen with that. Well congrats; you can use the car if you want."

"Thanks, but I think we might rent a limo and go as a group with Sporto and Alli, Brian and whichever chick he decides on; who knew the nerd would be the one ending up with choices. Anyway, so she's got to check it out with Rob to find out if she can stay? I am still working on this straight business; it's an awful lot of fucking work to keep you 'adults' in the loop."

Sarah nodded, but didn't say much more. "Everything alright with you Sarah? You've been quiet for days now."

She shrugged, "it's a hard time of year for me. My son would have been six tomorrow."

"Damn, I'm sorry and shit. Fuck! I just remembered, I think I have to go pick up my folk's ashes. It's too late now, but maybe Monday. I guess they aren't going anywhere. You want to do anything to celebrate; I mean does your Joey have a grave or something?" John didn't quite know what to say about her dead kid. "Is there anything I can do to, I don't know cheer you up? Remember I'm still new at not being a complete jackass."

Sarah laughed outright, "John I never thought you were a complete jackass; you did a pretty bad job of being an ass to people you like, and as for cheering me up, well you being here does do a pretty good job of it. No, I had Joey cremated and sprinkled over a field up in Wisconsin. My family is from up there; well it's a long story I'll tell you some other day." She changed the subject and since John didn't know what to say he let her, "maybe if Claire stays we can have a movie night, or something. Do I want to know how you put her to sleep?"

John smirked, "damn woman, get your mind out of the gutter Cherry is still very much a cherry, her old man doesn't have to worry; I fucking told you that. What's for supper tonight anyway?"

Sarah chuckled, "I haven't even thought about it, I was grading and it's what almost 8:30 now? What do you say to just ordering some pizza? I really don't feel like cooking after all those hours spent at the damn lawyer's office this morning. You also might wake your girl up so she can make that phone call." John nodded, "Pizza is never a bad choice for me." He smirked as he got up and walked back to the bedroom.

He flipped on the light, "Hey princess, Sarah says you have to call Rob if you want to stay, and how does pizza suit you for supper?"

Claire rolled over; having shed her jeans John considered pouncing her and making that cherry go away, but he managed to restrain himself. "If you don't want me pouncing on you I suggest you put more clothing on Cherry. Now, I'm all for you staying just like that, I can show you all kinds of fun ways to play." He smirked at her in a lascivious way. Claire pulled his blanket over her legs.

"Pizza's alright, I haven't had it in ages… I think I have the number to where my Dad is staying, will you hand me my purse? It's over there by your dresser." John did as she requested, "I'll meet you out there," He pointed to the door. Claire blushed and nodded, and John walked out with a self satisfied smile on his face.

Claire pulled her jeans on, and went discreetly to the bathroom to comb her hair and make herself feel presentable. When she came into the living room Sarah smiled at her, "Evening sweetie, there's a phone there," She pointed at a side table, "or there's one in the kitchen if you prefer. What do you like on your pizza?" Claire shrugged slightly, "uh, I've never had home delivered pizza, so I don't really know."

John chuckled, "I'm pretty sure they don't have raw fish, and I don't think you'd like sardines. I'm pretty sure she'd like cheese or pepperoni; princess, you don't know what you are missing. It's a treat, what do you like on pizza?" Claire blushed a bit, "uh, I'm sure I'll be fine with whatever you get. I'm going to use the phone in the kitchen."

Claire had grabbed the card her father had given her in case she needed to contact him. She sat down at the kitchen table and dialed. She looked at the clock on the wall, it was almost 8:30, and she hoped he was in his room. After two rings the phone was answered and she heard her father's voice; at that moment something in her chest loosened. "Hi Daddy; it's Claire."

His conference was in New York, and as pleased as he was to hear her voice, he knew she wouldn't be calling unless there was something wrong. "Hi there Angel, you know I do recognize your voice and I'm pretty sure I'd be worried if someone else called me Daddy." She smiled at his joke, and listened as he continued, "So to what do I owe the pleasure of this call?"

She wasn't sure how he would take her mother's appearance at the house, but figured he had to know since she continued taking or destroying things out of spite. "Well I had a really good morning, but then laid down for a nap…and well, like when I woke up, uhm, Mother was at the house. I, like tried to save some of our stuff, but like she was drunk and drinking, and like really awful. I kind of got winged by one of the statues she smashed against the wall."

"Fuck, she isn't allowed at the house. The restraining order stipulates she isn't to be there without my presence." Robert snarled.

"I don't know who told her you weren't going to be home, but like someone did. She was doing her normal drunk screaming and raving at me about ruining her life while she either like destroyed stuff or like stole it. After about an hour I snuck out the back door, and like told Scott to go home and uhm told Rose I was leaving. So, uhm, like I am at Sarah and John's can I stay for at least the night or the weekend? I was gonna have John come with me to get homework and stuff tomorrow, but like I don't know if she is still there or anything, and like I guess I am kind of scared to go back tonight." Robert could tell Claire was upset by the way she was rambling.

Claire continued, "I asked Sarah if I could stay and she said only if I talked to you and stuff. Do you want to talk to her?" He said he said yes he'd like that. Claire put her hand over the mouth piece of the phone and hollered, "Sarah, my Dad wants to talk to you." Claire heard her get up and move towards the kitchen. "She's coming." Claire handed the phone to Sarah with a smile. She ducked under the cord and motioned to Sarah that she was going in the other room for a minute.

Claire walked over and sat down in John's lap. "I'm pretty sure it's going to be fine, but would you go with me tomorrow to get some stuff?" John kissed her nose, "No problem Princess. Can I be a dick to your old lady if she's still there?" Claire chuckled, "Sure, why not."

In the other room, Sarah sat down in the chair Claire had left, "Evening Robert. How's New York?"

"Oh it's not bad, are you sure it's ok for Claire to stay? Thank you for giving her a place to go. I have to call the lawyers; Karen is not supposed to be at the house without me there. I can't believe she did this. I would sure as hell like to know who told her I was going to be out of town." Robert rambled a bit like his daughter did.

"It's absolutely fine for Claire to stay. I was going to order pizza and watch movies with them. The two of them are so damn cute together, she makes John show off his gentle side in a way I don't think he even knew he had and well I know he makes her feel safe. If she had a run in with her mother I can understand wanting the feel of safety, especially with you gone till Monday. You will be home Monday right?" She listened to him for a few minutes. "So how is your conference? I am sorry it's boring, but didn't you elect to go?" After listening to him half ramble and half rant for another few minutes, "I didn't know you were sent." They chatted for another 10-15 minutes, "Ok, I'll get Claire." She replicated Claire's action and hollered for her.

Claire came back into the room and took the phone, "So did you figure things out? Can I stay?" She listened to him for a few minutes. "Ok Daddy, yes I promise not to be pregnant when you come home, geez. Oh! I almost forgot, John asked me to Prom! I am so excited; can I go shopping this week after school so I can get a dress? I was hoping Allison would go with me. "After listening for a few moments, "I promise to behave and listen to Sarah; you do realize I'm not six, right?" She laughed at something, "Ok, I'll see you at the beginning of the week. Bye."

Claire hung up the phone, and she was sure she was still blushing after the teasing her father gave her. She took a deep breath and came back to the living room. Sarah looked up, "All set? I would offer you the couch, but something tells me I'd either find John on the couch with you or you in his room anyway. So, I am going to simply trust you two. Maybe not my best or brightest idea considering that you are teenagers, but what the hell." Claire blushed and looked at John and he simply smirked back at her and pulled her down next to him on the couch, she yelped a little. John looked mildly concerned, "did I hurt you?"

Claire shrugged, "my back is still bugging me." She snuggled into John, took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "Will you go with me to pick up clothes and my homework tomorrow?" John nodded and kissed the top of her head. Sarah rolled her eyes; "you two are so cute it's mildly nauseating." She picked up the phone, called a pizza place and ordered two large pizzas, breadsticks, and coke. She hung up, "should be here in about 30 minutes, so on TV we have a variety of choices." She named off a bunch of movies and they chose the new James Bond movie, Never Say Never Again. John had never lived in a place with cable before and was enjoying it. The evening seemed just right his beautiful girlfriend beside him, pizza on the way, a clean and safe home, money in his pocket, and a movie coming on TV. What more could a guy ask for?

Claire was also quite deliriously happy, a gorgeous boyfriend who made her feel wild, crazy, exited, and safe. She had a cool place to hang out, a father who had somehow become awesome, and there was pizza and James bond, what more could she ask for?

Halfway across the country another Standish was not happy at all. After getting riled up talking to Claire, Sarah had managed to calm him down. Now he was trying to decide whether to call the cops or to see if Rose had managed to stay at the house through the storm. He decided to try Rose, see what had happened and then perhaps call the police. Calling the house the phone rang five times and had almost given up when Rose finally picked up. "Hello?" She answered tentatively.

"Hi Rose, it's me Rob. How are you?" Very quietly she said, "Thank god you called Mr. Rob. Claire has gone away, I hope it's ok I told her it was a good idea to leave."

"I already spoke with Claire, but thank you anyway. Is _she_ still there?" He asked warily. "and you know I don't mean Claire. If all you can do is answer yes or no, that's all you need to do."

He heard her moving around, "Yes sir, and well she fired me."

Robert sighed, "Claire is staying at Sarah's over the weekend, and can I assume you've been trying to keep account of what she's been taking or destroying." Again, quietly she said, "yes sir." He then asked, "Are you being quiet because she's near?" She replied, "Yes sir, she drank herself into a, uhm… well she's sleeping I think, and I really don't want to wake her. I'm sorry it took so long for me to get the phone; I was afraid it woke her up, she stirred but seems to be settled again."

"You can go home Rose; last week I had an appraiser come to the house, remember? Well he took an account of all the valuables in the house. Anything she's taken or destroyed at this point will be noted as lost. She's not supposed to be there at all, and I don't want you to be put through anymore of her…abuse. Do you know Scott's number?" She told him she did, and he asked her to call him and tell him he wasn't needed till Tuesday. "You can go home now and take the rest of the weekend off. I am going to have her arrested for trespassing. The paperwork we signed for the separation stated she was not allowed at the house without my presence and permission. I don't want you to get in the middle of this, and you are in no way fired. I promise." Rose thanked him several times both for the weekend off and taking care of the soon to be ex-Mrs. Standish.

As soon as Robert hung up the phone he opened the mini-bar and made himself a drink. He ordered some dinner and did some work for the presentation he was doing the next morning. Close to midnight he found he still couldn't sleep, he picked up the phone and dialed Sarah's number. Two rings later she picked up the phone, "Hi Rob," she said cheerfully.

"How'd you know it was me?" He asked, chuckling; just hearing her voice had the power to make him feel better. She smiled, "I can't think of anyone else who would consider calling me at this hour, and really only you would know I'd still be awake. Somehow you've figured out my insomnia schedule." She laughed. They chatted for about forty-five minutes about his work, her work, the kids, and she listened to him bitch about Karen. He told her about his conversation with Rose, and his plans to call the police in the morning. He advised her to keep Claire and especially John from going to the house until he called with the all clear. They were both certain John wouldn't be able to keep his temper around a drunk Karen, especially if she was at all abusive towards Claire. "Well I should let you get back to whatever book you are reading, and I should get some sleep."

She smiled, "did I help get you tired?" He swore he could hear her smiling, and it made him smile as well, "Yep. Thanks."

"For what," Sarah asked.

"Being my friend, and listening I guess." It was the only answer he could come up with.

"Well what else would I do silly?" The comment made him laugh. "Good night Robert; I hope the presentation goes well and I promise to take care of Claire." His response to that statement was, "I never doubted that for a moment, good night Sarah." They hung up at the same time. Robert got himself ready for bed in a much better mood than he'd been in all day. Sarah got up from her chair, got herself ready for bed humming and feeling tired earlier than she had in weeks.

After the movie, but well before Robert's call to Sarah, John and Claire retired to his room. He turned on some music and plopped down on the bed, bouncing just a little. "Do you want to borrow one of my t-shirts to sleep in sweets?" Claire grinned, John only called her that when he was being particularly difficult or teasing. Claire opened up the drawer that held his t-shirts and pulled one of the larger ones out before turning around, "Sure, I think that'd be great gorgeous. I'll be right back." As she was walking to the door he commented, "you could just change in here, it's not like you aren't going to be sleeping next to me." Claire blushed bright red and slipped off the flannel then turned her back to him and pulled off the tank-top she'd been wearing. She looked at him over her shoulder and gave him a cheeky grin before slipping out of her bra; she quickly pulled the t-shirt on, but then slipped the jeans she was wearing off. John lounged on the bed with a smirk planted firmly on his face and watched the show.

He arched an eyebrow at her, "are you actually tired?" She blushed and shook her head no, but proceeded to climb onto the bed and pulled the covers over her legs. "What do you normally sleep in?" she asked. John shrugged, "well it kind of depends. I used to sleep mostly dressed, you know quick in and quick out. Since, I don't have to worry about escape I've been working on actually taking my clothes off, though sometimes I still fall asleep that way. Probably more often than not, it's kind of fucked up; I don't have to escape out my bedroom window anymore, but well sometimes I still wake up that way, all worried and shit. So that sort of answers your question, but well given the opportunity boxers I guess, maybe a t-shirt if I'm cold or something. That's what I think I'm working towards; kind of fucked up, but I never realized just how uncomfortable clothes are to sleep in. Ever think about it Cherry?"

Claire propped herself up on one arm and turned towards John. "Have I ever thought about how uncomfortable clothes are to sleep in? Well I've never slept in the all together or anything, but I've never really slept like fully dressed either I guess. Uhm, at home I have night shirts and stuff… well and this t-shirt I stole." She grinned and blushed at the same time. That comment made John bark out a laugh. "Am I gonna have to steal my clothes back from you Princess?" If possible Claire blushed even more, "If I were you I wouldn't bother, because well I'd just steal another one."

"Is that so?" John asked, and she nodded. "So I should just give it up as lost, eh? Do I have to worry about other shirts?" Claire kind of shrugged, "maybe, depends on how much I like it…and, never mind."

"Na uh, don't never mind me, you've gotten me curious now… and what?" Claire shook her head and buried it in a pillow. She said something, but he couldn't make it out from her face buried in the pillow. "Come on cherry that just ain't fair, if you are gonna say something you have to say it so I can understand. Really" John started to tickle her. "I'll keep this up till you tell me." They ended up tickling one another and wrestling on the bed, both laughing till they were out of breath. They ended up with Claire lying with her head on John's stomach. She squirmed around wincing a little, enough that John noticed she was trying to hide it – that was a game he knew well, and moved up so she was lying face to face with John with a giant smile on her face. "You are pretty awesome Bender."

He arched his brows, "Bender is it?'

She kind of half smiled, "It's what you prefer at school, from most people anyway, isn't it? And I don't have dozens of nicknames for you like you do for me."

Her statement made him grin, "I don't mind sweetheart or even babe, but well… since I found out Joe wasn't my real dad I've liked the whole 'bender' thing less and less, if you know what I mean." Claire leaned up and kissed his nose, his eyes, and then his mouth with every ounce of love she felt for him. When she pulled back, John looked a little stunned which surprised her since he kissed back pretty well, but she said, "I get it sweetheart, and if you don't want me to call you that do I get to call you sweetheart at school and stuff? It won't fuck up your hard-ass, burn-out identity?"

John swatted her ass, "you've been calling me sweetheart and crap like that for days, so no, I don't mind if you do it at school. Everyone else there, well except Sarah, has to call me Bender. That way my hard-ass, burn-out identity won't get screwed up. Well until I show up at Prom, but since it'll be such a mind fuck for Vernon it'll be fun. He's been decent lately, I guess Anderson pretty much ripped him a new one. I think it has something to do with having the chief of police on your side; which is something I guess I totally owe to you and your old man, who, by the way, has recently ranked as coolest man on earth for letting you stay."

The comment made Claire blush from her hair down to her shoulders. "What did I say to make you blush, Cherry?"

"Well, uh, like, my dad told me he wouldn't be as cool if he found out I got knocked up at Prom or before. I totally couldn't believe he said that, I'm pretty sure he thinks we're already having sex, which oh my god… I just don't get. And well, he kind of lectured me on the merits of safe sex." Claire continued to blush through her whole little ramble, which John thought was cute as hell.

"There are lots of ways we can have fun that won't get you knocked up, sweets." He moved himself so he was leaning above her and whispered, "Want to try a few?" He didn't give her time to answer as he began kissing her. He moved his casted hand underneath her so she was in the crook of his arm and moved his good hand up and down her side, brushing the side of her breast gently. Instead of stopping when they needed to breathe he simply started kissing her chin, then her neck, upon which he left another hickey. Then he kissed around the front of her neck and kissed down to the swell of her breasts, kissing the t-shirt. He looked up at her as his good hand slipped up under the shirt and he caressed her side and her belly.

Claire's eyes were glazing at the things John was making her feel, she had no idea her neck was connected to the rest of her body, but a warm feeling started in her belly and she was sure her panties were getting wet, when he moved his hand under the shirt she almost bucked up to meet him. When he started caressing her belly, she grabbed his head and started kissing him again; then she moved down to his neck to kiss, and lick and nibble. She never knew a boy could taste good, but John did, he tasted like … like something indefinable. She started sucking on the side of his neck the way he had done to her, she felt like she needed to mark him somehow, but then his hand moved up and over first her right, then left breast, just skimming over them. She could not stop her body from bucking up to meet his hand. Her moan was lost against his neck, but he felt it and took it as a positive reaction so he began adding a little pressure to his movements and caressed her breasts with a little more weight to his hand. This caused Claire to lose suction and to moan against his neck. He quickly kissed her, swallowing the loudest of her moaning, but not stopping what he was doing to her chest.

Claire had no idea her breasts were so sensitive, it was like each move of John's callused hands was an explosion in her body, there was no longer any higher thought process happening for her, she just didn't want him to ever stop touching her. He slid his hand down her belly, and she whimpered when he moved away from her breast but he replaced his hand with his mouth, over the t-shirt… this caused her to move him away, she pulled the shirt over her head and she started kissing him with a passion he was surprised by from her, at least since they'd never gone this far before. He decided to tempt fate and moved his hand down to her panties. She didn't stop him but she moaned again, so he kept kissing her as he slipped his hand down to her most private place. He was surprised as how wet she was, gently, kissing her softly and waiting for her to push him back he slowly slipped a finger between the folds searching for that little button which would shoot her over the moon. She made no move to stop him, so he continued. He started kissing her a little more deeply as he found what he was looking for, and he began to gently massage her there. After a few minutes her whole body bucked, and he felt her tense up, and she pretty much screamed his name into his mouth as he gave Claire her first orgasm. He slowly slipped his hand out of her panties, and was surprised when she whimpered.

Every movement of John's hand caused Claire to feel as though the fire that started in her belly was spreading throughout her whole body. There was a part of her brain telling her she should stop him, that she shouldn't take her shirt off, but the fire burned that voice away when his mouth touched her bare breast. She had a moment of panic when he first touched her panties, but Claire didn't want to stop, she knew what she wanted, John. Once he began rubbing between her legs there was no thought, only feeling and then the world exploded in fireworks and she felt like jelly. However, once some rational thought returned, and John was simply caressing her belly, breasts, and sides again, as though he was gentling her back down, she decided she wasn't going to let him say no to her touching him as well.

She began kissing him more firmly again, and she could almost taste his surprise… her hand slipped under the t-shirt he was wearing and moved to push it up. She started kissing his stomach, and she heard him say, "Claire, princess, you don't…" she put her hand up over his mouth, she didn't want to hear what she didn't have to do; she knew she didn't have to do anything. However, she also could see the erection that was tenting his boxer shorts, having talked him out of the jeans he'd had on earlier. As she was kissing his stomach, she pushed his shirt higher and began licking and sucking on his nipples like he'd done to her. She felt the fire in her belly return when he moaned. So tentatively she moved her hand down to his cock; she rubbed it gently over the shorts which caused him to buck. It was a good thing she'd left her hand over his mouth as he moaned again, then licked and sucked one of her fingers into his mouth.

Claire moaned over his lower belly as he sucked on and nibbled each of her fingers. She discovered there was hole made for him to come out of, she thought to herself, 'how ingenious,' and Claire pulled John's cock out of his shorts. Once again he tried to pull her away, but she shook her head, kissing then licking the line of hair on his belly right below his navel. Claire caressed, and studied his dick. She was surprised at how velvety the skin felt, it was hot, and she had an overwhelming urge to do something she'd always thought would be disgusting. Before she could rethink her idea she put her mouth over the tip, licking the drop of liquid which had formed at the tip. She thought he tasted salty, but this part of him was so primal a part of his body, the taste and smell overwhelmed her to the point where she couldn't have stopped herself if she wanted to. She proceeded to lick, and tease and finally suckle on him.

John was stunned, his princess wouldn't let him speak, wouldn't let him stop her, finally he no longer had any thoughts as she put her mouth over his cock. He couldn't believe she was doing this, but he could no more stop her than he could stop himself from loving her. She kept suckling, and having talked with friends she knew what was coming and she desperately wanted to taste the essence of him. Her whole life she'd thought this act would be gross and disgusting, but it just felt so right and well she felt like she could really taste who he was. "Princess, you gotta stop, I'm gonna cum… gods… fuck…" and he came in her mouth; she drank down every drop. Something she never thought she would do any part of felt so good to her. He pulled her up as he started to go limp and get very sensitive; he pulled her to his chest, and kissed her thoroughly. He'd never kissed a girl after she'd done that for him, he could just taste a bit of himself on her, but it was mixed with the taste of Claire and somehow it was beautiful.

When they broke from the kiss, Claire blushed from the roots of her hair and hid her face in his chest. "Fuck Princess, that was stellar, amazing, beyond anything I've ever felt. Why… why did you do that for me? You didn't have to… I didn't push you into it did I?"

The worry in his voice made Claire nearly sit up. "Oh my god, no! John I just did what felt right, I don't know, did I hurt you? Did I do it wrong? I promise you didn't make me do anything, you just made me feel so good, and I wanted to touch you… to taste you." She started blushing again. John kissed her again. "Princess, you are the most amazing girl on earth, truly, fucking fantastically wonderful!"

She put her head on his chest again… "Uhm… could you, uh, well… uhm… doing that well it made me... like, that uhm, I don't know, like fire, like John, uhm… would you touch me again?" She blushed and buried her head again. He gave an almost full belly laugh and cheer. He rolled her over to her back, the position they'd started in. "Baby, if you'll let me, I can do one better…. Do you trust me?" Claire laughed, "What a dumb question, Babe. Do I really have to answer that in words after what I just did?" John chuckled, "good point."

He began by kissing her breasts, then kissed down her belly, and slowly pulled her panties off, then moved further down, she started to say his name, and he copied her earlier action by putting his fingers over her mouth… then he put his mouth on her and sucking on his fingers was the only think that kept her from screaming as he made her cum again, and again.

After several hours of playing, they lay snuggled together, Claire had considered retrieving her panties, but didn't think her legs would move. This put an arrogant smirk on John's face, and he whispered into her ear as they fell asleep at nearly 3am, "and see you are still my cherry." She laughed and fell into a deeply relaxed sleep. John held her tight as sleep overtook him, and for the first time since he was a child thought that maybe there really was a god.

review? pretty pretty please...


	35. Chapter 35

I don't own any of the BC characters, only the ones I've created. Thank you to everyone who reviews, they keep me going.. I hope you like this next little installment.

Claire woke up the next morning feeling safe, warm, and excited. She lifted her head to try and check the clock for the time but didn't want to move or disturb John so she couldn't really see anything. She felt so good with his arm wrapped around her and her back snuggled into him. From his deep breathing she didn't think he was awake yet, and she wanted a few minutes to lie there just experiencing how good it felt to wake up in his arms. She realized she'd slept through the night with no nightmares, for the first time in a couple of weeks.

Her whole life she'd been told she was supposed to behave a certain way; there were things 'good girls' didn't do, she could almost hear her mother's voice lecturing her about how she was to look, to dress, to act. With all that had been going on, she really wasn't sure she cared any more. She knew that she didn't want to stop being herself, but the question really came to her – who was she? Did it actually matter? She was a senior in high school; unlike what people had been telling her for years she didn't want to plan her whole life out. She sort of made a decision that, well, she wanted really wanted to have sex with John, especially if it was anything like as fucking fantastic as the night before. She chuckled a little at her own pun and snuggled back further into the boy she was thinking about. Maybe they should just continue to explore each other a little more.

Claire began plotting something else she never thought she would consider. She knew she could go to Planned Parenthood and get birth control, she even thought that she could do it without her parents knowing. She thought maybe she could ask Allison to go with her, but no, she really wanted to do this on her own, and maybe, if things worked out the way she wanted by prom…. She could have her wicked way with the boy spooning behind her. She was amazed as her own thoughts, but before last night she didn't know anything could ever feel that good. Just thinking about it made that warmth in her belly start again. And she thought John might be waking, if the well rising at her wiggling meant anything.

John nuzzled Claire's neck; he'd been awakened by her squirming back against him. "Sweets, if you don't stop squirming I'm gonna make you fix the problem you're causing." She leaned back into his nuzzling, though it felt strange since he seemed to need a shave, "Is that a promise or a threat?" She decided to tempt fate and squirmed against him a little more and suddenly she found herself flipped over onto her back with John above her. She didn't know how he managed it with the cast still on his hand, but there he was tantalizingly close; Claire simply couldn't help herself, he'd removed his shirt in their fooling around last night and well his chest was so close so she leaned herself up and kissed then licked his throat. John dropped himself down over her, still holding himself partly off of her by leaning on his fore arms. "Cherry you are gonna be the death of me." She started kissing his jaw and neck between words, "you keep saying that, and you didn't answer my question… was that a promise or a threat?"

John chuckled, "I think I may have created a monster; maybe it's both sweetheart." Then he leaned down and kissed her hard and thoroughly. "If you keep doing that, we are never going to leave this room, and I don't think either of us wants Sarah beating down the door because we can't keep our hands off one another." Claire had begun rubbing her hands over his chest, and down to his stomach. She had discovered she loved his body, the thin almost wiry muscles covering him, drew her like a magnet.

The night before she had kissed each scar she could find on his upper body. She'd even cried a little as she did it. They talked a little about some of them, but it was as though she was lavishing her love on every mark of violence on his body; it was unlike anything he'd ever experienced. He'd never exposed himself to a girl before; in the past, he'd always been careful to keep parts of himself covered, but Claire was fairly insistent and he couldn't actually deny her anything. Out of the blue his stomach growled. This caused them both to laugh a little. Claire pouted a bit, "I guess I'll wait to have my wicked way with you till later. Unless..uh, like… did I make you uncomfortable." She sounded so worried, another thing he'd never gotten from another chick; no one ever really cared about his comfort. John kissed her nose, then her lips gently. "Princess, if I needed you to take care of me every time you gave me a hard on, well let's just say you'd be pretty much perpetually on your knees."

Claire playfully slapped his arm, "On my knees? I don't think so… I much prefer using the bed." With that sage comment she scurried out of bed, and if possible John got harder. He'd forgotten she'd fallen asleep nude. "Fuck Cherry, you are god damned gorgeous. I still can't believe you let me touch a body as fantastic as yours." The statement made Claire blush from her roots down.

"You're not so bad yourself hottie. Though I am sure you've seen dozens of girls with better bodies than mine. I'm not exactly huge in the, what do you call it, rack, department." John pulled a pair of jeans on and walked up behind Claire to kiss her shoulder, and to put his hands on her breasts before she put her bra on. "Princess, you have exactly the right amount of tits, they are just a bit more than a handful, and well… they are perfect on you." He caressed her a little, then moved down to the curve of her waist. "And another thing babe, I don't know what you think my experiences have been, but I have not seen a body better than yours outside of magazines. You are fucking beautiful, and whoever it was made you so insecure needs to be fucking punched. I promise I like you exactly as you are." She started blushing again, and pulled her jeans on without panties. Though she balled the offending piece of clothing up and shoved it into her purse. "I definitely need to get clean clothes."

John kissed her neck one more time before moving away to grab his t-shirt off the floor, "you could always keep a few items here, you know just in case." He smirked at her, and found a pillow winged at him, "John! Really, I don't need to advertise that I can't keep my drawers on around you." Apparently her own comment made her blush again. John could not help but rib her, "If you keep blushing at every comment your blushes will certainly be an advertisement to Sarah and she'll make me sleep on the damn couch." Claire's eyes widened, "Oh god, I don't want to throw you out of your own bed, and well I sleep better with you. I think it's the first time in weeks I haven't had any nightmares."

He'd pulled the shirt on over his head, and picked up the shirt Claire had planned to sleep in and handed it to her. He kissed the top of her head, "Cherry, I'm just giving you shit. So long as we don't do anything that could get you knocked up, I am pretty sure we're safe. How come you didn't tell me you were having nightmares still?"

Claire pulled the t-shirt on over her head and turned to face her boyfriend as she knotted the shirt on the side, "I didn't tell you because you'd only worry and there's nothing you can do. It's not like my father is going to invite you to cuddle me all night, every night. He may be getting cool in his old age, but he's just not that progressive." John left the bedroom first, he ran a brush through his hair, and used the bathroom before heading to the kitchen for a cup of coffee. It was pretty late so he figured Sarah had probably been up for several hours. He walked to the coffee pot, and poured cups for both himself and for Claire. He sat down in his usual seat at the kitchen table. Sarah was indeed up reading the Sunday paper. "Can I steal the comics? " John asked.

Sarah looked up with a smirk on her face, "only if you promise to cover the girl's face with a damn pillow and promise me I won't have to explain anything to Robert in a few months." John would have sworn on his life that he was past blushing, but at this moment he'd have been proven a liar. "A pillow? You want me to smother her? And I fucking promise Cherry's cherry is still intact, for fuck sake. Now gimme the damn comics."

Sarah burst out laughing, "Fine, I'll invest in ear plugs, and you best keep that promise or I will fucking kill you.'

John laughed, "damn, threats and everything. I gave you my fuckin word didn't I?"

Sarah nodded, "Point taken, now, how much ribbing can the girl handle or should I just leave it?" John replied, "uhm, I think I'd owe you my first born if you could just leave it for now…. I mean last night was unexpected and really fucking amazing… so uhm, pretty please?" This caused Sarah another round of laughter so hard she almost choked on her coffee. She had just gotten herself under control when Claire arrived in the room.

Sarah looked her over, "How is it that you manage to make Jeans and an Iron Maiden t-shirt look stylish, I think it has got to be some kind of witchcraft." Claire laughed, grateful that Sarah was trying to make her comfortable. She'd overheard part of the previous conversation and had been a little afraid to walk into the kitchen. "Uhm, well thank you for the compliment, but I don't think any of my old friends would call this very stylish." Sarah shrugged, "always knew they were fools. Fashion may change every twenty minutes, but you make the outfit look good Claire. Just accept it." Claire smiled as the comment made her feel wonderful. John commented, "I poured you a cup of coffee babe, but I have no idea how you take it, and I am partial to how you look in my clothes." Claire smiled at him over her shoulder, and proceeded to add sugar and cream to her coffee. She sat at the small kitchen table with John and Sarah.

Sarah sipped her coffee, "did you sleep well hon?"

Claire nodded, "I slept great. I've been having a lot of nightmares lately, but none last night." She smiled shyly at John. "I'm pretty sure I know why. Anyway, Sarah, I just want to thank you again for letting me stay here this weekend."

Sarah shook her head, and got up to brew a fresh pot of coffee. "It's really no problem sweetie; you are a pleasure to have around. Oh yeah, and when I spoke to your dad last night he asked that you not go to the house till he calls."

Claire tilted her head to the side, "did he say why?"

Sarah shook her head, Robert hadn't directly commented that he didn't want Claire there because he was calling the police, and if he hadn't mentioned it to her, she didn't want to be the one to say anything. She wasn't really sure how Claire would take it. While the woman was definitely an unfit mother, Sarah didn't know if she always had been or if her behavior and abuse was something relatively new.

"So, what do you want to do today Princess?" John asked and then bit into the bagel he'd fixed himself for breakfast.

Claire shrugged and John noticed her suppress the desire to wince. He wondered if it was the bruise on her arm or if her back was still bothering her.

Claire went to the kitchen counter to make herself a bagel after her non-answer to John's question. A month ago, or even less, she would have said something like, go shoe shopping, or go to the mall, or get a manicure or something superficial and now, she thought, all that sounded boring. It was kind of like she didn't even know what she wanted or liked any more. She liked John and Sarah, and her dad, she liked the things she had… but what did she want to do? She didn't think it would be appropriate to tell him she really wanted to spend the day in his bedroom, at least not in front of Sarah. "I don't know, maybe we could just hang out here and watch movies or TV, or we could go for a walk," she spun around, "Are there any parks nearby?"

Sarah watched the interaction between the two of kids, Claire especially, there was something not quite right, something, she couldn't put her finger on, happening with the girl. Sarah wasn't sure she had the right to ask her if something was up; she still wasn't quite certain exactly what her place was with Claire. She was one of her students, but she was also John's girlfriend, Robert's daughter, and she considered Robert one of her closest friends. She hadn't had any real friends since she moved to Shermer, hell she didn't really think she had any close friends since she escaped Milwaukee and changed her name.

The thought of Milwaukee reminded her of the date, how could she have forgotten the date. She got up and left the room without a word, and proceeded to walk to her bedroom and shut the door. She managed to hold back the tears long enough to get inside her room with the door shut. Sarah slid down the door, put her arms on her knees and put her head down. Tears began streaming out of her eyes. Today would have been Joey's sixth birthday. She should have been thinking about birthday cake and decorations rather than worrying about teenagers. She could barely picture his little face, he'd always been such a happy little boy. God she still hated that sonofabitch, if he'd gotten off his lazy, druggie ass for even a minute he would have known there was a problem. He could have called an ambulance, or done something… anything to help her little boy.

No, instead he beat the shit out of her for caring, for calling the police, the ambulance… he beat her for crying. She thought briefly of her parents, she hadn't seen them in close to fifteen years and the thought of them still left a bitter taste in her mouth.

She moved away from the door and sat in the chair she had in her room by the windows. They looked out over a yard where she had a garden last year. Perhaps she could do that again, maybe she could even get the kids to help her out. Joey had always loved to play outside, she remembered him trying to help her plant flowers before his second birthday. The memories of her baby boy made her smile slightly as she continued to look out the window.

Claire watched as Sarah walked out of the room without a word, "Did I say something wrong?"

John took a drink of his coffee to wash down the last of the bagel in his mouth and shook his head. "It's really her story to tell, and I don't know all of it, but uh she had a pretty rough life before moving here. I guess she changed her name and all kinds of shit. But the long and short of it is that she had a son, and the motherfucker she married was too much of a drug addict to notice a two year old crack his skull open, and he bled out while she ran to the store. I think she said today was his birthday, he would have been six." John took another drink of coffee.

Hearing John describe what had happened made Claire's heart squeeze tight. She wiped away the tears streaming down her face and asked, "Is there something we can do for her? I mean to honor his memory or anything? I feel like a total shit for asking about a park now, god like even thinking about a park on a day like today."

John shook his head, he would never understand girls. Claire didn't know anything about the situation and here she was thinking she was somehow to blame for asking about a park. "Fuck Cherry, you didn't know, and I am sure she wouldn't want you getting yourself all worked up just cause you asked about a park. In answer to that question, I really don't know this neighborhood very well so I don't know if there's a park nearby."

Claire ate her bagel, though she barely tasted it, she was turning over and over in her mind what she could do to make Sarah feel better. She was looking out the window over the sink when John got up and opened it, sat back down, and lit a cigarette. "Look princess, if you really want to know if there is something you can do, go ask her. I asked her yesterday when she told me and she said some shit about our being here made things better." John kind of shrugged, he really didn't get that answer, but hell she was a woman and he figured he wasn't supposed to understand. As Claire finished her breakfast she got up and put the dishes used by her and John in the sink and looked out at the back yard. There was an area which had obviously been used as garden in the past, maybe they could all work together to clean up the yard and start a garden.

Claire turned to John who was pouring himself another cup of coffee, "Do you know if she had a garden back there?" She pointed to the space which was different from the rest of the yard. John took a sip of coffee, "I don't know, didn't I just tell you to ask her about this shit? Look if you two want to hatch some kind of fucking beautification plan, think of me as grunt labor alright?" He shook his head and sat down at the table again.

Claire bit her lip, "do you think it would be alright if I went and knocked on her door? I don't want to disturb her or anything."

John rolled his eyes, "If she is to be believed nothing we do is a terrible disturbance to her; so fucking go already, sweets." He smacked her ass as she passed him. This caused Claire to turn and whisper in his ear, "my other idea was to spend the day in bed with you." She scurried away before he could respond to her.

Claire's whispered comment made John hard almost instantly. He would so rather spend the day screwing around in the bed room than cleaning a fucking yard, but he figured he was doomed to whatever whim these two ladies came up with. They were both so fucking wonderful; Cherry was different than he'd expected her to be, he couldn't keep his mind or hands off her and that was unexpected after more than a few weeks with any girl. And Sarah, she deserved his best, his least asshole qualities – he'd never met anyone who just gave to people like she did. He thought about Claire's comment for a moment and decided if he spent the day in bed with her that cherry of hers was so not going to fucking last.

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	36. Chapter 36

Ok, this is an extra long chapter, sorry it's been a few days. I don't own any of John Hughes intellectual property - the other characters are all mine. Hope you like it.

Robert Standish woke up early and realized he was a little hung over. He ordered room service, ate some toast, drank a pitcher of orange juice, and debated with himself. Should he call the police and have them go to the house check for the trespassing whore or should he call the house and see if she was still there. Robert remembered a time when he thought he loved her, he wasn't sure if he ever had anymore. He desperately wanted to protect Claire; she was growing into a fine young woman, someone he was really proud of, and Karen did nothing but fuck that up.

He finished the coffee he allowed himself after drinking the juice. As he got ready for his presentation to other bank investment officers on the new computer program they were trying to institute. Robert was sure computers would be the way to go, in fact he was so sure of it that's where he invested a chunk of John's money.

He straightened his tie and thought about what he would face when he returned home. Maybe he should just go straight to Sarah's to pick Claire up. He decided to give Karen one more chance to be a civil adult. So he sat down at the desk in his room, looking down at his presentation he took a deep breath and dialed his home number. The phone rang six times; he told himself he'd give it ten before he hung up.

A very irritable sounding Karen answered the phone, "Hello, do you have any idea what time it is?"

Robert took a deep breath and tried to temper his rage that she had the gall to still be there, "Hello Karen, it's nine in the morning, a time when many, hell most people over the age of 18 are up and about."

"Oh, Robert… I, uh, I just dropped by to pick up a few things I'd left behind." She changed her tone to something almost saccharine sweet.

"You don't have to lie to me Karen; I spoke with Claire last night." He was just tired of this fight, but knew it was a long way from over.

The irritation and he suspected hangover returned to her voice, "You can't keep me from my own house forever Robert. I bought most of these things; that means they're mine. And where the hell did Claire run off to, a friend's house? She didn't even let me know she was leaving; I mean really, she is getting so disrespectful I just don't know what to do with her any more. "

Robert took a deep breath and exhaled desperately trying to keep a reign on his temper. "Where Claire went is irrelevant, I know where she is, and she is safe. Now, you signed an agreement stating that you would not come to the house without my permission and my presence. You are breaking that agreement Karen."

"What do you mean by that? Where Claire went is certainly not irrelevant! She's my daughter too Robert, you can't keep letting her do what she wants! She has gone straight down hill in the last few months. She's become a disrespectful bitch who associates with the wrong crowd while alienating everyone she's been friends with her whole life! As for that damn agreement, I didn't realize you had to be here! I have a right to get my things!" She was all but screaming now.

In a tone that would have frightened most people he replied, "I paid for everything in that damn house, which means those things are mine, not yours. You've destroyed so many things I am tempted to bar you from the house entirely, now you have a choice. Get the fuck out of the house now or I will have you removed by the police for trespassing."

Karen screamed, "You rotten bastard, I am not trespassing this is my house. And what about Claire! Where is your little daddy's bitch?"

"Claire is none of your business, and you have 1 hour to get out, or the police will remove you. Good bye Karen." Robert replied to her screaming, and he hung up.

Back in Shermer, Claire walked hesitantly down the hall towards Sarah's room. John would in no way help her out by talking to Sarah directly; Claire half smiled as she thought for a second about how he'd pushed her into being this brave. He was sitting in the kitchen doing something; she didn't know what.

Claire knocked on Sarah's door tentatively. She was unsure how to behave around Sarah, on the one hand she was her teacher and she had a certain way she was expected to behave while at school, her mother had drummed into her head…. The thought literally stopped Claire in her tracks. Why was she reverting to shit her old lady would say, that same woman whose fucking manicure had caused her to get stitches. She could swear she heard John in her head, thinking of the gorgeous boy who was forcing her to be brave.

All those comments went through her head in the split second before Sarah said, "Come in." Claire thought she sounded falsely cheerful, but she followed the instructions and opened the door to come in. She'd only been in Sarah's room a handful of times, often to retrieve something in an emergency. She didn't even know if this was the right thing to do, but Claire knew that before the end of March she never would have questioned someone else's feelings. "Hi Sarah, I guess, I like, I just wanted to make sure you were ok. Uhm, John mentioned that you had reason to be…I don't uhm, upset and I hadn't done anything wrong, but you, well you look sad, and I uhm, well I want to do something to make you feel better." Claire felt like she had just vomited up those words, she sat down on the bed, and stared at her ring. The emerald just made her feel better.

"No sweetie, you didn't say anything that upset me, and yeah, I have a lot of reason to be fairly unhappy today. I'm just, well it's just… "Sarah sighed and tried to collect her thoughts. Claire saw the backyard out the window. So she decided to tackle simple, real questions and leave the feeling stuff till another time. She decided then and there to make that simple change: tackle the task at hand and everything else would fall into place, it was the opposite of how her parents had always communicated, by pushing each other to snapping, and she did not want to do that. "Did you have a garden out there?" She pointed out the window. Sarah could have kissed the girl for giving her something to focus on.

"Yes, I planted a vegetable garden there last year. The whole yard really needs cleaned; I keep meaning to ask John if he'd help me." Claire chuckled, "I was wondering if maybe we could do that today; clean up the yard I mean, uh I saw the patch there and well, I thought if we could maybe do something together. John said you sort of said you like having us around and while I know we're uhm like a poor substitute but if you wanted to do it anyway I thought it might be kind of cool to uhm work on it… and uhm, the big tree there would be a really nice place to take prom pictures… uh, like, I always kind of wanted to like plant flowers but uhm my mom said it wasn't dignified, and gods I'm rambling at you aren't I?" Claire blushed when she noticed Sarah's eyes getting kind of wide; she happily also noticed a hint of a smile.

'I would love to have your help, and well my baby boy loved playing outside so it could be kind of a way to honor him. If you would like to help me with the vegetables, we can till up a patch for flowers as well. I have a set of chairs and a table we could put out if you we have the energy." Sarah smiled as Claire rambled, it reminded Sarah how much Claire was like her father.

Sarah stood up and stretched, having the kids here really did help. She felt distracted from her sadness. When she moved here she promised Joey she'd let go. Interacting with these kids, who had become like family to her through a harrowing set of experiences they'd gone through together, really helped. "I think I have an extra pair of gloves, I'll dig them out. If you'll go and convince John to help us out, I'll change into something more appropriate to yard work and we can get started." She smiled at Claire.

Claire hopped up, suddenly very excited. She had never done anything like this before; when she finally found John he was leaning up against a tree in the back yard and appeared to be smoking a joint. At first she started getting upset, why did he have to get high at a time like this, but then she noticed all the equipment needed for cleaning and tilling were leaning up against the privacy fence. It also occurred to her that she didn't really want him to change his ways, and if that meant she put up with him smoking pot well so be it. It had certainly helped her the other day. All these thoughts were banished when she straddled John's hips, moved his hand away from his mouth, and kissed him thoroughly. She inhaled the smoke he blew in her mouth. When the kiss was over she put her head on John's shoulder and blew out the smoke. As she did this Sarah came out of the back door.

"Well excellent, you found my tools, so are you two going to help out or make out and smoke all day?" Sarah said teasingly.

John replied," I vote for the second, but I am pretty sure if Princess here can keep her hands to herself for a few hours we can help you out as well."

Claire sat up very quickly, and a look of complete worry crossed her face, "Oh fuck, I am being way to forward and clingy aren't I…god John, Uhm…" She started to stand up and he grabbed her hips quickly unwilling to let her go just yet. "Breath Cherry I was giving you shit, nothing serious, and I didn't mind your so called forwardness at all, if you will simply take a minute and relax you'll know that." He pulled her hips forward just slightly so she could feel how hard he was. This caused her to blush intensely and quietly asked as she buried her face in his hair, "I turned you on by doing just that?"

John threw back his head and burst out laughing. Claire looked a little mortified and started to get angry. "Keep your britches out of a twist sweets, you can do that by just walking in the room. Straddling me and shotgunning a hit is like hitting it out of the fucking ball park. Now Sarah knows you are blushing, and well I'll just think of baseball or politics or fucking history class and we can get something done for Sarah today." John kissed Claire's forehead and kept his hands on her hips till she stood up right in front of him. "Ya know, this position has its merits too," If John didn't think Claire could blush more, he was wrong. "God damn Cherry I love making you blush." Claire moved out of his grip and stuck her tongue out at him, which only caused him to laugh harder.

The three of them spent the rest of the clear, warm, and sunny afternoon raking, tilling, generally cleaning up, and pulling weeds till they had a nice looking yard with only a few patches needing grass and two places for gardens. Sarah said, "I don't know how long it's supposed to remain this nice, but if you want to go with me some afternoon to pick out plants we could maybe get planting done next weekend."

John complained, "Wait there is more to this process?" He wiped his forehead off and left a smudge of dirt across it, "I think I might get a detention or something next Saturday, this is hard fucking work!"

Sarah and Claire both laughed at him; However, Claire grabbed her back moaned a little when she got up. John moved quickly over to her and helped her finish standing. "You sure you're alright Princess?"

Sarah looked mildly concerned having heard the note of pain in Claire's voice. Claire shook her head, "I'm sure it has something to do with never having done an actual day's work in my life, remember, I am working on being a reformed Richie princess. Sarah commented, "You don't have to do it all in one day, and I think you need to go see a doctor about your back, you wince way too often, and even if you don't say anything those of us who know you can see it."

Claire shrugged, "I'm sure it's fine." She was sort of getting used to the constant pain in her back, enough so that she didn't think anything of it. John finished putting all the yard tools in the garage and exited to join the conversation. "I agree with Sarah Cherry, you didn't used to look hurt so often."

Claire rolled her eyes, "Look, I'll mention it to my doctor when he takes the stitches out of my arm next week, will that satisfy?" She looked between the two of them. They looked at one another, then back at Claire and nodded. Claire threw her arms up, "now that's just not fair, I am sure you two just had a conversation without saying a word!" Sarah laughed, "Now you know how I feel half the time!" With that statement she walked into the house. The light was blinking on her answering machine; she pressed play, and heard Robert's voice. Hearing his voice made her smile; his recorded voice sounded a little haggard, "hi Sarah, it's Robert. Tell Claire it should be fine for her to go to the house, though I sent Rose home so I'd rather she stayed at your place for the night. I'm trying to find a red-eye to get me home a little faster; this conference just came at a bad time. Though I think I wowed them with my presentation. Anyway I think I am about to run out of town. Talk to you all later." Claire and John walked in for the end of the recording to see Sarah leaning against the counter listening with her eyes closed and a sweet smile on her face.

John, of course, had to say something, "You know he's soon to be a divorced guy, I could buy some ear plugs or something." Sarah's eyes flew open, "It's nothing like that John, don't be an ass." This caused John to crack up and walk out of the kitchen. Claire sat gingerly down on a chair in the kitchen. "It's funny, I wasn't kidding, that was the first time I have ever done anything like yard work. My mother would be mortified to know I had so much fun digging in the dirt today."

Sarah looked Claire over, she looked generally happy and quite filthy; however, Sarah thought she looked like she was in pain too. "Well I suggest a hot shower. You heard your dad, you want to take John with you over to your place to pick up clothes?" Claire shook her head, "Honestly, all I want right now is that hot shower and a nap." Sarah smiled, "not a bad idea, I am pretty tired myself, and we're not really supposed be working this hard yet. But I feel somehow better for having done it." Sarah was looking out the back window over the yard they'd just worked on. Claire struggled to stand up and walk over to the window, but her back just hurt too bad. It was as though suddenly she really couldn't get up and she gasped. Sarah spun around at the gasp, "Claire are you ok?"

Tears sprang to her eyes and in a very frightened voice she said, "I, uh, I don't know. I don't think I can move.. she whimpered a little and cried softly, my back… I.. it…. hurts." Claire tried to put on a brave face and held in the sobbing she wanted to do, because she was afraid it would hurt. Sarah rushed right over to her and put her hand on Claire's back, "oh god sweetie, I think you might be having muscle spasms, or something in your back. John!" Sarah hollered, "John we need you." He'd been getting ready to take a shower so rushed out into the kitchen in a hurry, not bothering to put a shirt back on. The tone of Sarah's voice caused him to have a moment of panic, "What? What happened? What's wrong?"

Sarah looked up at John and saw the wild panic in his eyes, "Calm down John. Take a deep breath, Claire is having back spasms. It's not really that uncommon for someone recently injured to have something like this happen." She looked at Claire, "Sweetie, you need to call your dad, and find out if you have a doc who can see you or prescribe you something. " She looked up at John, "If I run a hot bath for her, do you think you can carry her into the bathroom.' John smirked a little, "do I get to carry her naked?"

This caused Claire to laugh and then her back didn't hurt quite so much, or it did and she was getting used to it. "Can I just stretch out for a bit then we try the bath? Uhm, there" she pointed to a card on the table "that was the number to reach my dad. I want to try and get up, but can you help me to your room?" She looked at John. He nodded and walked towards her, before she could count to three and try to stand John had picked her up bridal style. "Someone told me it's better to ask for forgiveness than permission. I know you would have told me some shit about you being too heavy to carry, so I figured I wouldn't ask." As he distracted her by needling her, he reached his room and laid her gently on the bed. "So what else can I do for you?"

Claire smirked back at him, "Keep your shirt off and close the door?"

John laughed, "you've been spending entirely too much time with reprobates."

The comment caused Claire to giggle, "I don't think you count as a reprobate if you know the word.'

John appeared to fake annoyance with her, "Hey now, there are lots of smart reprobates out there, besides I room with an English teacher some of that shit is bound to rub off. Be right back." John walked back into the kitchen; Sarah was on the phone so he grabbed some frozen peas from the freezer and a kitchen towel and walked back to his room. "So I have an idea here. Can you roll to your side just a touch, I'll prop you up with pillows and stuff. Claire stiffly rolled over and true to his word John tucked blankets and pillows so she didn't have to use any muscles to stay in that position. Then he ran his hand down her back gently, and placed the peas at the hottest point. Claire stiffened a little at the cold; John stroked her arm, "settle down now cherry, it's just something cool to make your back feel a little better." He laid down facing her and stroked her face. "Princesses shouldn't work so hard." He smirked at her, "Want I should go get your stuff on my own? If your old man gave the all clear the house should be empty and well I know how to get to your room." Claire shook her head, "I don't want to think about the existence of that place, no matter how much I want my stuff I'd rather you were here with me. "

As it turns out, Robert had indeed gotten a red eye home. The hotel told her he'd left in hurry in the middle of the night. Sarah thought about it and found where John had written Claire's number on the wall. She tried that number and she was close to giving up, it was on the sixth or seventh ring a winded sounding Robert said, "Hello?"

Sarah chuckled at the thought of Robert running to find where the ringing was coming from. "hi there stranger, so where in your big old house does this phone ring to exactly?" She couldn't keep the laughter out of her voice, it was, in part, relief that he was back in town. Robert sat down on the bed, "laugh it up, but just wait, and it rings to Claire's room. Not a number I expected you to be calling. Isn't she there?" There was a hint of worry in his voice. "Of course she's here Robert; although I think overworked her today."

"I am sure she worked herself into whatever state she's in." Robert chuckled. "Is she whining about it?"

"Uhm, rather frighteningly no; I think she might have pulled a muscle or she just plain did too much today. We uhm, we worked in the yard, getting them ready to put gardens in. She said she never was able to get her hands in the earth before, but she seemed to be wincing last night and like I said, I think she did too much. She had a pretty bad spasm a bit ago. So, uhm, you sent everyone away… want to come by for dinner?" She really hoped it wasn't pushing too much, but even though they'd spoken regularly she missed him. "Is there, I don't know, a lot of … damage?"

Robert sighed wearily, "there's enough, and I will happily come to dinner rather than foraging here in a kitchen I'm likely to be yelled at for mucking about in. What can I bring?"

Sarah looked around her kitchen and thought about what she had to cook. "I don't really know, I'm not sure what I've got about"

"I could bring dinner with me."

Sarah sounded indignant, though she had a smile on her face as she bustled about the kitchen figuring what she had and could put together. "You absolutely will not. I'm a terrific cook, not trained or anything fancy,"

Robert cut her off hoping he hadn't offended her, "I didn't mean it like that,"

Sarah started laughing, "God Rob, you and Claire are so alike. I was giving you guff you silly man. Why don't you come round about 6:30 or so, gives me time to clean up and get something started for dinner."

Rob sputtered, much like Claire did when John got her. "What a brat. I'll see you later. Oh, wait, god, uhm Claire… is she ok? She still had some of the painkillers her doctor prescribed to take on an as needed basis."

Sarah nodded, "Yes I know, she had them in her purse, and I saw John walk out of here with something from the freezer for her back. So, yes she'll be fine. Just something to keep an eye on, really; so I'll see you in just while." She hung up with a bit of a spring in her step. This was the first time she'd ever had someone over, not counting John before he moved in.

Sarah heard giggling from John's room, and she knocked on the door, "Hey guy's Robert is coming to dinner so try not to lose too many of your clothes – he'll be here about 6:30." She snickered as she walked away not even sure what expletives were coming from the other side of the door. Walking back into the kitchen she realized she was really pretty tired, and really not used to taking care of so many other people. She stared in her freezer for a few then opened the fridge… what could she put together, she used to be good at this. Ideas started to come to her as she looked at her leftovers. She felt better than she had in days.

On the other side of the door, John's antics and Claire's pain medication, topped by some of John's own brand of self medication had the girl giggling madly. Her laughter made John feel like he was the king of the world. After a few impromptu mockeries of some of the people at school, John plopped down on the bed next to Claire. The clock on his bedside said 5:15, and Sarah's knock while prompting a, "get your mind out of the gutter from John, and "what kind of girl do you think I am" from Claire had settled them both down. John was stroking Claire's hair, "You feelin any better Princess?" She smiled and nodded and tried to slide closer to him, but he noticed a distinct crinkling around her eyes letting him know movement still hurt. "How's about we lay here and close our eyes for a while so your old man doesn't think we've been making a slave of you… well that Sarah doesn't, I'd consider keeping you chained to the bed if I thought we'd be left alone." He leaned in putting his forehead against hers. "Can I admit something to you? You'll like it, I'm about to sound like a dweeb."

Claire giggled tiredly, "Now I definitely want to hear it."

John tweaked her nose, reached around her and grabbed the pea, mixed them up and put the cold side against her back again. She gasped, "How did you know?"

He shrugged, "Experience, I guess… frozen stuff gets warm after a while and needs readjusted. Now do you want to hear my dork like statement?"

Claire nodded, "You never actually sound like a dweeb you know, and if you did I am certain hell would freeze over."

He turned his head to look at her, "Thanks for the vote of confidence there Cherry. I wish your old man wasn't coming over for dinner. Not that I don't like him and all, but it means you'll be going home with him and I won't get to spend the night with you again."

Claire judged her back and decided to pull so John would come to her, "First there was no dweeb-like sentiments there even, and I kinda wish the same thing." When John had come close enough she stopped tugging on his shirt and started kissing him. The two kissed gently for a while and John's hand began to wander, she moaned into a kiss and he pulled away. His chuckle was a very masculine sound as Claire whimpered when he pulled away. "Look Cherry, your old man is gonna be here in like an hour, so much as I would love to continue lying here getting all I can from you. I think you need some rest; mind you there is a part of me kicking my own ass for saying that, but well the truth is, you don't fuck around with back injuries. If I promise to lay here with you the whole time, will you try and get some rest?" John had moved close enough that Claire could comfortably lay her head on his chest; she nodded but didn't say anything else.

After just a few minutes John could tell she was asleep. He stroked her hair and lay thinking about this amazing girl. He still wasn't sure how he landed her. He'd been a total dick that day in detention. He knew he was no party to be around, and he'd gotten the shit beaten out of her multiple times, but she still liked him and until recently he didn't think anyone liked him. He thought he should go help Sarah, but that was his last thought. Not long after Sarah poked her head in after not getting a response to her knocking.

"I don't know Rob, I'd ask her if she was up to the car ride home, but she and John are both sound asleep, and I don't think Claire ever even got in the shower." She listened for a minute, "She really hasn't been a diva at all, I promise. I swear the two of them together are a breath of fresh air for me and she worked her heart out today. I told the two of them that they could help me pick out plants. Of course, John bowed out swearing he was just grunt labor." She laughed and listened for another minute. "I don't have any desire to hire a landscaper Robert; I like doing yard work. Yes, I am serious. Alright, let me off the phone so I can finish dinner it's not like you won't be here in a half hour." She cradled the phone on her shoulder and stirred one of the pots on the stove. "Well then bring clothes you think she'd wear and make the decision about staying or going when you get here. Yes, I know I'm brilliant." She laughed and said goodbye again.

Late the night before, Robert had arrived home to a front hall littered with broken plaster and one of his busts lying on the ground near the door. He was almost afraid to go further, but he managed to make it to his bedroom without tripping. He turned on the light to see the room in total disarray. He picked pillows and blankets off the floor, put the sheets back on the bed, and almost decided to sleep on the couch but he was afraid Karen would have found a way to destroy that as well. He stripped off his suit and stepped under the hot jets of his shower, and afterwards he stumbled to bed. The next morning he called his lawyer, and wondered briefly if the police officer who'd been sent round had found Karen or just the mess she'd left behind. Every room he went into he found expensive items destroyed or missing. After discussing it with his lawyer he was told to leave it and the lawyer would take pictures. Robert commented that he had taken some, but he'd also had a put up a few cameras in his house. After the beating he saw her give Claire he didn't want to be unaware of what was happening in his house, so there should be some tape of Karen doing the damage. He took pictures of everything and told his lawyer he'd have the tapes as well as the film sent over to him.

Robert went into the den, a room Karen virtually never entered, so he had some hope she hadn't done something like destroy his favorite TV. She hadn't, and she didn't know how to work the stereo so that was safe too. He left his jeans and white t-shirt on and wore a pair of slippers the next morning. He wished he'd asked Scott to come in this morning, but he could make his own coffee and he couldn't remember the last time he'd been home alone, really by himself. He drank coffee and read the Sunday paper in peace and quiet. He got some paperwork done in his half remodeled office, and began wondering about Claire a little after mid-afternoon, he picked up the phone to call Sarah's house. She picked up on the second ring, "Hello?"

They talked back and forth and he was almost relieved to get the offer of dinner. He didn't really feel like going out, but he wasn't sure what to do with any of the food in the refrigerator. He had no real idea how to cook; his whole life there had been someone to do the cooking for him. He called because he didn't know if Claire would be up to coming home if her back had been bad enough for her to willing take pain medication. He noticed that her mother's drinking had translated into Claire appearing to hate most kinds of medication. After his conversation with Sarah, Rob went up the stairs to Claire's room and grabbed a set of comfortable clothing as well as the extra necessities. He didn't think he wanted her going to school tomorrow. Robert decided he wanted to take Claire into the doctor to see about her back, if she still wanted to go to school after that she could.

Robert changed his shirt, pulling a red polo over his head and running a brush through his hair. He was going to stop at a grocery store and pick up some bread or something for dessert. It was simply bred into him that it was rude to go to someone's house for dinner without an offering of some kind, even if Sarah told him she had it all covered. He ended up purchasing both fresh baked bread and a cheesecake because he couldn't decide between them. As well as a bouquet of flowers. It was no wonder Claire said he wasn't allowed in stores alone. He grinned to himself as he left with his purchases.

It was 6:30 on the dot when Robert rang the doorbell at Sarah's. She wiped her hands on a towel and hobbled over to the door. She opened it with a smile, "come in Robert, welcome to my humble abode."

He handed her a bouquet of wild flowers. My father said I should never arrive at a woman's house for the first time without flowers, and while I know I've been here before this is the first time it hasn't been either under duress or during an emergency. So, I well, I hope you like them."

Sarah chuckled, "I love them: she put her face up to the lily and smelled it. Let me put them in some water, follow me to the kitchen. I haven't even woken the kids up yet, the chops need another 15 minutes or so in the oven, though everything else is ready. I hope you like simple fair – I've made pork chops, stuffing, and a salad."

Robert's stomach growled loudly, and Sarah knew where Claire got her penchant for blushing as Robert turned bright red. "I, uh, I brought bread and cheesecake because well, I uh, well I couldn't choose between them. Claire says I shouldn't be allowed in stores by myself." Sarah laughed, "You won't catch me complaining, I love cheesecake and fresh baked bread is a perfect addition. Want to help me set the table? I almost never get the chance to actually use my dining room. When it's just me, or just John and I; we eat at the kitchen table." She reached into a cupboard and pulled out dishes. She handed them to Robert and pointed at the table in the other room. Sarah was so glad she'd cleaned up the place and the table was already cleared and wiped off.

"You were taught to be chivalrous, and somewhere along the way I learned to utilize every bit of help in my vicinity; I think that may have been somewhere in my teaching school." She grinned at Robert while she got silverware out of the drawer and folded a few paper napkins.

"You are getting around pretty good in that cast of yours, but aren't you still supposed to be on crutches? Robert asked, finding himself enjoying her company, he'd never met anyone quite like Sarah Dearing.

Sarah rolled her eyes, "theoretically I suppose, but the cast is supposed to come off tomorrow and I guess I want to get all the use I can out of it now cause I know once the cast is off I have to be bloody careful again." She handed Robert the silverware and napkins, he stared at them for a moment then turned back to the table, he guessed to continue setting it. Another first for him and when he put glasses out as well without Sarah's prompting he felt quite proud of himself. It was really very silly, but this was something servants had done his whole life.

Sarah opened the oven and Robert saw her about to bend down and grab the hot glass pan without anything to protect her hand, he jumped up and pulled her hand away without a thought. "You'll burn yourself."

She laughed and blushed, "I'm sure I'd forget my head some days if it wasn't attached. Thank you."

Robert grabbed the towels Sarah had been using and pulled the pork chops out of the oven for her, "uh what do I do with these?" Sarah told him to set the corning wear pan down on the hot pads on the table. Sarah began putting the stuffing in a bowl. Robert watched her for a minute," are you sure I can't help anymore?" Sarah thought he sounded like a little kid, so she thought about it for a minute. "Well three things need done, besides putting this bowl on the table, and they are 1. To get the salad and dressings out to the table, 2. waking the kids, or 3. cutting the bread, which job do you want?

Robert thought about it, and while waking Claire was rarely a happy time for the girl he wasn't sure he was up to seeing her in her boyfriend's arms and bed. "I'll do the salad thing, please tell me what to do with a minimum of wisecracking about my choice." He crossed his arms in front of him in a kind of defensive pose.

Sarah arched a brow at him, "There is salad on the bottom of the fridge – the bowl is covered in saran wrap which should be pulled off, there's a variety of salad dressings on in the door, and uhm, pull the crotons out and I'll put them in a bowl. By the way I wouldn't have wisecracked about your choice, in your shoes I probably wouldn't want to wake them either. That said…" she made the noise of a chicken as she hobbled out of the room.

Robert sat down and laughed till tears came to his eyes. Never in his life, again and again that statement kept coming up; he wondered if this was how Claire felt. He got the salad out and unwrapped, he looked in a bunch of cupboards before he found the crotons, but in the search he also found a bowl to put them in. Once again he felt a silly, but wonderful feeling of pride. He'd done another new thing, a behavior that his entire family, and probably most of his friends would be appalled by, and he realized people like Adam might get it. He ate a few of the crotons as he put everything out, and he sat down in the kitchen thinking.

Sarah came back followed by a sleepy looking John pretty much holding Claire upright. There was a look of pain in her eyes which she quickly covered. Robert wondered when she learned that trick. "Hi there Angel, I heard you were playing in the dirt today." He walked over to her for a hug and John gently transferred the obviously injured girl. "Are you sure you don't need me to take you to hospital sweetie?"

Claire kissed her father's cheek. "Look I am willing to see a doctor, but no more ER trips; I'll live through the night. Besides, I don't want to miss out on whatever smells so good."

Robert smiled and kissed his daughter's forehead. "I'm glad I came home early. What can I do to help you to the table?"

John piped up, "I tried to get her to let me carry her, which is probably the fastest way of getting us there, but she totally vetoed the idea and said she could walk. I'm pretty sure what's she's doing isn't walking. If you take most of her weight, which we both know is next to nothing, so shut up sweets, she can move ok."

Claire snarled a little, "I wasn't going to say anything and I can walk. See watch," she took a step away from her father's arms and moved very quickly to grab a chair so her knees didn't buckle from how much it hurt. Robert and John both rushed to her, and John backed off a little not wanting to get in Robert's way. Rob shook his head and stepped back, telling John, without words, that he could help her in. John nodded a thank you.

It was beyond fucking weird what had happened there between Claire's old man and him, but it seemed good so he wasn't gonna bitch. He wrapped his arm around Claire's shoulders, and squatted down just a little to pick her up bridal style. Claire yelped and said, "John, damnit… I could have made it in here by myself." John set her in the most comfortable chair in the room and grabbed a pillow to put behind her back. Claire sighed when he finished doting on her. John walked to his chair saying as he went, "Sure princess, you could have walked to a chair, which wouldn't have been comfortable for you. It would take you a fucking week to get there so the food would be cold, and last but not least you would have been too tired to fucking eat when you got there; so just say fucking thank you."

Claire looked properly chastised if a little offended and she quietly muttered, "thank you."

John looked her straight in the eye which always made her both nervous and excited. "Besides, I don't like seeing you in pain and I am pretty sure no one else in the house does either, so deal with it."

She wanted, for a moment, to be indignant; however, she realized there was just no point. She needed to just move on. "So how come you are home early Dad? I thought your conference lasted till Monday?"

Robert shrugged and waited for Sarah to be seated before he even considered eating. "Couple of reasons, the conference… sucked I guess is the best way to say it. Really boring actually, I was a little worried about you, and well I was a bit worried about the state your mother left the house in. As it is, well uh, if it's ok with Sarah, I brought a change of clothes with me. There is essentially rubble and broken glass all over the house; between your back and the fact that you'd be probably relegated to your bedroom, I thought I'd give you the option to stay here till I can get it all cleaned up. And I want to take you to the doctor tomorrow." He raised his hand, "no arguments please. You aren't in an ER right now because I am either stupid or generous, take your pick."

Sarah finally finished what she was doing and came to the table to sit down. "Dig in. There is no ceremony here." She set down a basket of fresh bread and some butter. John got his meal, then Claire and Robert started at sort of opposite ends of the meal she got salad, he got his meat. Then they switched, Sarah got her food as well. The meal was a marvelous experience for all involved. Everyone enjoyed Robert's dry wit, which somehow matched John's slightly filthy one. Between the two of them the ladies at the table were highly entertained and the two men had fun challenging one another in a playful verbal interchanges.

After the meal, Sarah brought out small plates and the cheese cake, as well as some coffee for everyone. Dessert was enjoyed, and John, who'd been keeping a fairly close watch on Claire said, "You ready to stretch out again with some painkillers in your system Cherry?"

She nodded, "Thank you, for letting me stay another night Dad; um, can I ask what you brought?"

Robert got up and returned with a large bag full of clothes and folders. "I didn't know what you wore over here, so I didn't know what you had, and uh, I kind of guessed at everything. Though, you'll find a new toothbrush in there as well."

Claire started to reach for the bag and at her twist gasped a bit. John walked around the table and grabbed the bag, "you can check it out in the bedroom, toots." Claire opened her mouth to snap at him but caught a look from both Sarah and her Dad. "What? I didn't say anything!"

This made them laugh, and Sarah countered, "You didn't have to you were thinking that loud. Chances are good he'll be back to help you to the bedroom as well, he doesn't deserved snapped at for helping you or taking away the temptation to hurt yourself." This caused Claire to practically harrumph, but she pouted quietly.

John came out, pulled Claire's chair away from the table and said, "Want I should help you go stretch out or were you gonna make it in there on your own?"

Claire stuck her tongue out at John which only made his smirk grow. "I'm sorry sweets, I don't read sign language. Guess I'll just sit down and have another piece of that cheese cake." He started to walk around the table when Claire all but squeaked to which he replied, "Now, now, you're teasing me by acting like klepto, use your words Claire."

She was practically bursting with indignation, but said, "John, will you please help me stretch out after I say goodbye to my Dad and goodnight to Sarah. If I am going to take another painkiller, I'm probably gonna fall asleep pretty quick." John motioned with his hands as if to say, 'have at it, I am not stopping you.'

With some apparent difficulty Claire stood up. She walked the two paces to her Dad and leaned against him; he held her close trying to hold her tight but gently. "Thank you for coming and bringing me stuff, and well for being so cool Daddy. You are the best." She hugged him as tight as she could under the circumstances.

"I know you hate being out of commission Angel, but look at it this way; if I take you to the doctor in the morning you either go to school from there, or you have a day off; in the meantime, you get to spend another glorious night at casa da Dearing. I'll be round early to pick you up, so you can probably get ready at the same time you would for school, I hope I picked out ok clothes for you sweetheart."

Claire kissed the top of her father's head and looked at John with a plea for help. Robert asked, "Is there anything I can do to help you?" John looked back over his shoulder having picked Claire up, much to her dismay, "if you have any muscle relaxers she could probably use a couple of those." As if to prove she wasn't feeling well she put her head on John's shoulder. "I'm good, but thank you for asking, I am just feeling tired. It was a nice to have dinner with you, Daddy, and thanks for letting me stay." With that John carried her into his bedroom. He figured the gods somewhere must be repaying all the shit he'd been through in one mighty sweep.

John laid Claire gently on the bed and stroked her hair. "What can I get for you? Do you need meds? Ice?"

Claire pulled John towards her, "right now all I need is you." With that she almost toppled him over as she pulled him into a kiss.

Please please review - I am going to be wrapping up the story over the next several chapters so I want to know where you see all this going...


	37. Chapter 37

After kissing Claire for not nearly long enough, John pulled back. "If you tell me you are somehow faking injury I may kill you, nah, I'd fuck you silly first, but serious Claire, are you ok?"

Claire sighed, "It feels a little like someone took a two by four to my back, but otherwise I'd say I'm pretty much perfect. I mean, I have the hottest guy at Shermer for my boyfriend and I am allowed to spend the night with him. Not sure I am gonna complain." She smiled kind of serenely at John. "Now it might be painkillers talking here, so take anything I say with a grain of salt. I had so much fun today, I have _never_ done anything like that, and it was great. I can't say my back doesn't worry me a little, but if a little pain gets me all this cool new stuff I am pretty sure I can work with it."

John put his forehead against Claire's. "So are you the pod person or is the chick I've attended school with for the last four years a pod person? Cause really, if someone told me I'd be looking forward to cuddling Claire Standish, be a rich orphan who lives with my English teacher in September, I would have told them to put the hallucinogens away for a while cause they was trippin. Yet here I am. My whole fucking world has been ripped apart, shaken up, and then someone with a strange fucking sense of humor put it back together too late."

Claire squirmed and rubbed her nose against John's with a smile. "I don't really know how to actually answer that. I want to think I'm not the chick I used to be, who thought my mother was some kind of goddess, and Dad was a cheating bastard. The girl who only wore the most expensive everything, and looked down at anyone who didn't. The girl I am right now, the one who feels all fuzzy inside because I get to spend my time with you John Bender, I like who I am when I am her. I don't ever want to go back to being that vapid, superficial, bitch who showed up in that library. I need you in my life to help me stay here. You are so, I don't know, real and just knowing I get to see you makes me feel more real. Does that make any kind of sense?

John chuckled, "I don't know Cherry, honestly, not really. But before you get all indignant with me let me finish. I don't think it matters if it makes sense to me. I don't need to know the hows and whys of the emotional shit. I like you, and you like me. Fuck, the words I'm about to utter will make me a pussy for the rest of the year, but here goes; you make me want to be better Princess. You make me want to be smarter, and nicer and shit like that. Ok, now I am officially more a fucking girl than a guy." He slammed his head down into the pillow and looked almost ashamed of himself.

Claire smiled at him and laid her head on his pillow. She reached over and ran her hand down his chest, and belly, and then she moved her hand down over his cock. She gently caressed and squeezed, and she felt John get hard under her hand. John chuckled at the sparkle in her eyes. She quietly said, "nope I can give absolute testimony that you are certainly not a girl." He pushed her hand down just a little harder, and rubbed up against her hand. She moved her hand away from him… John looked at her with a smirk, "too soon?"

Claire settled back into the nest John had created for her, "um, kind of, I think I want to know my Dad's gone, but could we, uh, like you know," Claire blushed from her roots down and she started whispering, "could we, uh, do more of what we were doing last night? I don't think I'm ready to go all the way, but I so want your hands on me right now, but it feels, well, it feels naughty because my Dad could knock at any time… and your dumb mouth told him to just walk in cause we might be sleeping. And I am filthy."

John rolled into Claire and began running his hands up and down her body, "So what, dirty girls turn me on… and you know that being bad feels pretty good, eh?" With that super cheesy line he started kissing her neck, who knew behind the ear was a super erotic place, he was just kissing her and she was going to fall apart. She began to kiss back, where ever she could reach. They had just hit a stride in making out when a knock came on the door. "Everyone had better be dressed in there."

John rolled away from Claire and straightened her shirt with a smirk on his face. Claire tried running her fingers through her hair, but she couldn't stop looking thoroughly kissed. Robert came in the room, and Claire realized to her surprise it was almost 11. Robert walked in the room and said, "I'm gonna head home Claire, are you sure you don't want to come home?"

Robert asked the question before he got a good look at his daughter. She was fully dressed, as was John and he hadn't given them time to fix themselves so they must have been that way he reasoned with himself. However, his daughter looked pretty well ravished and he had to settle himself with the knowledge that she was less than a year from being 18, and there was no way he could get her away from this boy. So he cleared his throat and decided to rib them a little. "As I can see, I guess not." He looked at John till John met Robert's eyes, "You'd better take good care of her."

John nodded, "I promise sir"

Robert looked at Claire," is what I brought ok?" Claire blushed when she realized she hadn't even looked in the bag. So she tried to cover for herself and said, "Yep, it's all great Dad. Thank you. I'd get up, but uh, I'm not sure it's a good idea." He laughed, knowing full well that his daughter couldn't lie worth a damn, and kissed her forehead. "Good night Angel, I will see you early tomorrow morning." He left room without another word.

John fell to his back laughing; later he'd describe it as 'laughing his balls off'. Claire started to get upset, which made him calm down for at least a minute. "Sorry babe, but I've seen you lie a blue streak up and down the hallowed halls of Shermer Hell, but what you just did, trying to lie to your old man," John failed to keep himself from laughing again. "Sweets remind me to never ask you to try lying to your old man cause you flat out suck at it."

Claire crossed her arms in front of her, "what? He didn't know a thing." John started snickering, and handed her the bag. "Make sure he got what you need; I gotta take a leak." Claire pulled out a sweater which was at least four years old, and would never fit her properly. She pulled out a pair of slacks which while sort of matching the sweater, should never be paired. She thought she could probably borrow something from Sarah. There was a pair of white sports socks, an old nighty, and a pair of panties that she was positive she'd gotten rid of. A tooth brush, mouthwash, her make-up kit – for which she was uber grateful – finally her hair brush. She could make do with the things he'd brought her; she'd not be the most fashionable, but she thought the pants would likely be more comfy than any of her newer clothes.

John walked out of the room still trying not to laugh at Claire's piss poor ability to lie to her father. Coming out of the bathroom he nearly knocked over the man himself. Robert righted them both, "everything alright?" John nodded, "you realize Claire believes you bought her story hook, line, and sinker; I'd just have gone through the bag, which I left her doing." Robert chuckled, "Yeah, somewhere, some god gave me the grace of having a daughter who sucks as lying to me. Means' I've never really had to worry. I watched her play her mother like a Stradivarius – A skill I never learned. So I hear you've asked her to Prom, I will pitch in and get the limo for you kids, and probably a room for you and your friends so if you drink at least I don't have to sit worried sick about one of you ending up dead."

John said, "gimme one second," He poked his head in his bedroom, "is everything in the bag cool? Or do you need something more or different or anything like that?"

Claire smiled and twisted just a bit. "Not what I have chosen, but the clothes are nice and they are clean so I won't complain." John smirked, "really? I didn't think you had that particular talent?" Claire looked confused, "what talent?" John said, "Not complaining," as he ducked out of the room, missing the pillow being thrown at him. He spun and looked at Robert, "You heard the lady, she's cool with your picks."

Robert had indeed heard her, and he also heard the unspoken, dislike of his choices, but well he didn't even know where to begin in get clothes for her. She had so damn many of them. "Oh, before I forget again, you and I need to sit down so I can show you the portfolio I started for you out of a chunk of the money you received. Sarah said you also inherited the house?"

John nodded, "yeah but it's a piece of shit, and I don't know what to do with it."

Robert thought for a moment, "let me talk to a few people and I think I might be able to help you out with that as well."

John turned back towards his door, but stopped on more time, "Oh, uh keep me posted on what the doc says about her back, and just in case she's not completely up front, she's been wincing a lot since the girl's room incident hurt her back, and you couldn't see it, but her left shoulder has a monster bruise on it. I didn't know if you needed that kinda shit for your lawyers, but I thought I'd let you know. I don't like her at that place alone if her ma can just show up at any time."

Robert put his hand on John's shoulder, "Thanks John. I will make sure she's honest with the doctor, and to be honest, I don't like her mother showing up unannounced either, it's why I made her sign a paper saying she wouldn't. I don't' know exactly what to do about it though."

John shrugged, "if you ask me you should just move, it's not like you were a happy family in that big old mansion. Thanks for everything and take it easy Mr…. I mean Rob." John ducked into his bedroom, and walked in to see Claire looking through Guitar magazine he'd picked up. He wasn't sure he'd ever seen a hotter image than his girl wearing his shirt and damn little else; she must have shimmied out of her jeans, which meant her back was feeling better. She was lying propped up by pillows and looking over Guitar World. How much more fucking awesome could his life be. Claire looked over and saw John just watching her.

"You know staring is kind of creepy, right?"

He smirked, "yeah, but you like dark and mysterious therefore you must love creepy too."

She smiled, "yeah, I guess, but I'd like it a whole lot better if you were over here rather than way over there." He swaggered over towards her, a little strut, and a little predatory, and she loved every bit of it. He crawled up on the bed and hovered over here for a moment, "I think you are a fucking amazing girl, and well, I am lucky as hell to be able to take you to your prom. Which by the way, your old man just offered to pick up the tab on the limo and said he wanted to talk to me about a… uh… not notebook….um, fuck I don't remember but it's something about what he did with my money." Claire piped up, "a portfolio?" John exclaimed, "yeah that. Now that I've delivered my news, I want to spend some quality time corrupting you." He leaned down on the front of his arms and began kissing her.

After a little over an hour and several failed attempts to keep Claire quiet he snuck out of the room leaving her deeply relaxed and asleep. He was hungry and would have loved a beer, but there was never any in the house. John suspected she didn't drink for lots of reasons, but that didn't change his desire for one. He'd thoroughly enjoyed doing every bit of debauching he could with Claire short of actual sex. He was feeling a masculine contentment at knocking her out from too much pleasure. He walked into the kitchen nearly ran into Sarah. She laughed, "Oh, perhaps I can go to bed and not worry about you making her scream anymore?" John blushed slightly, but covered it quickly with bravado. "Sorry to have disturbed you."

Sarah rolled her eyes, "can the macho bullshit, and would you open the window, pack a bowl, and bum me a smoke?"

John chuckled, "damn I can't get away with anything here, sorry, old habits and all." He poured himself a cup of coffee, went to his jacket and pulled the stuff he'd need. They shared a bowl and smoked a cigarette in silence. "Can I ask a question?'John asked quietly as he lit another smoke.

Sarah knew John only chain smoked when he was upset or nervous about something. He took a deep drag off his cigarette, "Ok, technically two questions; first uh what's up with you and one Mr. Robert Standish? And well he told me I own the house and shit, and I don't know what to do about it, but he's been like super cool and I don't want to dump all my shit on his shoulders. So I am not sure what to do."

Sarah understood both his hesitation to trust and the amount of trust he showed her by allowing himself to show any vulnerability in front of her. "There's nothing up between Rob and I. We're friends, and maybe someday we'll upgrade to friends with benefits, but neither of us are in any position to be more than friends. As for your folks house, if Rob mentioned it, he might have an idea of what to do about it," Sarah replied.

John put out his cigarette and nodded, "he said he'd have more information later and there was money stuff I needed to look at. I was thinking about, well do you think anybody would mind if I got a car with some of that cash?"

Sarah sat back and shrugged, "I don't think it's anybody's business what you do with the money; if you want a car, buy a car."

He stood up and stretched with a smile on his face, "were there any leftovers? Cause I could use something before I hit the hay – we both have to get up before breakfast."

Sarah shook her head, she was beginning to believe John Bender had a hollow leg, where else would he put all the food he could eat? "I am sure you can forage something. There are leftovers from the last few days." She pulled herself up, "but the house is quiet, so your paramour is sleeping, I guess?"

John smirked a little as he was his head was pulled out of the fridge. "Yeah, I snuck away after she was sound asleep." He had an armful of stuff to make a sandwich, and a coke. Sarah looked over his gains and asked, "Do you plan on sleeping at all tonight?" John shrugged, "not tired now, I'll crash when I get sleepy."

Sarah took several pills from the bottles on the tables, and hobbled past John. She put her hand on his back, it was deeply pleasing to her that he didn't flinch, nor appear to stop his actions. "Sweet dreams find you sooner rather than later John."

As it turned out, Claire had a few discs bulging and several parts of her back were out of whack. A round of steroids, some trips to a chiropractor, a little physical therapy, all of which Claire complained about bitterly. Her back did indeed improve and she had few residual effects of the weeks of brutality she'd suffered, aside from a lingering need to touch, or smell John, the occasional panic attack, and trouble sleeping.

Over the next several weeks, everyone at the school was gearing up for Prom. John and Claire's relationship deepened. He'd never met anyone like her, anyone who was so eager to change, and yet asked nothing from him. Sarah asked him politely not to drink, so he didn't. What he found interesting was that Claire didn't. The only think she ever asked was for his presence. He turned around from his locker one day to find her standing so close he almost hit her. "Hey sweets, what can I do for you?" He pulled her close to him; in the past few weeks the stitches in her arm had been removed, but she had pretty impressive scars. The cast on John's arm, and Sarah's leg had also been removed. He still had a brace for his hand, but it was black and didn't look shitty with the other hand in his fingerless glove.

Robert took John's advice and after a long talk with Claire they moved into a different house. This one was quite a bit smaller, though it was still really big. They kept Rose and Scott but everyone settled into a far more easy relationship. The newly single parent got to know his daughter, and found they enjoyed one another's company in a way they hadn't since she was a kid. John and Sarah developed a friendship that was based on the way they understood the world. But everything wasn't quite back to normal, sometimes his hand still hurt like a bitch, and even in the warmth of May Claire was still wearing long sleeves. When he pulled her in close she put her head on his chest and took in a deep breath. "Hi sweetie," Claire said quietly.

He lifted her chin up, "what's goin on? Am I gonna go an asshole to someone?" Claire buried her face against him, "It's nothing, just bitchy girls talking. Once upon a time I was a shoe in for Prom court if not queen… you even teased me about it. I guess there's a part of me that misses it all, and well the girls were being really bitchy in their new spring clothes. And I wanted to just see you before I went to my next class, it's full of them and none of us." He gave her a thorough kiss. "Give' em hell, Sweets. You can be a bitch to match the bitchiest of them." She smiled, kissed him again, and skipped off to class feeling like she could do anything.

Some days were good, some not so much. Claire had become a little skittish, Andy, Alli, Brian, and John were the people she spent the most time with. The group often hung out at Sarah's, sometimes Lauren, who Brian was dating, would join their outings, but more often than not she was busy with stuff leading up to Prom. The gang was sitting at an old donut shop discussing plans for the weekend. Claire whined, "I wish we could all just get ready at the hotel, it would be easier." John chuckled, "Quit bitchin Princess. We have a room for the night if we get tired, and a limo if we don't. Is the limo taking us all?"

Allison piped up, "If the limo is up to us – why don't we just bring people so we all end up at one place. My folks could give a rats ass, so maybe pick me up and take me to Andy's" she turned to Andrew, "You said your mom wanted pictures." He nodded and put a whole donut in his mouth. "Is Lauren coming to your place or should the limo go to her place to pick you guys up?" Allison asked Brian. "Then the limo goes to where? Claire's mansion or John's place?" Claire tilted her head and thought about it, "I think Dad was going to drive me to Sarah's so we could get pictures there." Allison took over again, "So we'll all meet up at John's place and that way the limo takes us to prom together." The effect of being with Andy had given Allison courage to speak up she'd never had before. Claire and John still verbally sparred in such a way that people who didn't know them would never have believed they were dating. Overall, each of them was content in a way they hadn't ever been.

Prom night

At 6:30 in the evening, John was standing in the bathroom cursing. He walked out with his tie undone and out the back door to smoke a cigarette. Sarah noticed that he was about half ready. She poked her head out of the door, "Everything ok?"

John realized just how bad his reflexes had become in the last few months. "Yeah, everything's fucking peachy, except I look like a fucking dolt."

Sarah burst out laughing, sat down next to John on the back steps, and asked to bum a cigarette. John smirked, "thought you were quitting?"

"There's an ing on the end of that word, implying present tense or still in progress; now give me a damn smoke, brat." He gave her one and lit it for her, after a short drag she said, "while I'm not really sure what a dolt is, or how they look, I'm fairly certain you look better. I'm glad you went with a non- traditional tux, it suits you. The pink tie ok that might be questionable, but I doubt Claire based her color choices on you. Anyway, you are wearing a regular tie, which, if you like, I can show you how to tie, and a new pair of doc martens. I am sure dolt's don't do that."

"Thanks for the pep talk and all… but well, I've never dressed like this." John muttered.

Sarah smirked at him and chuckled, "No one dresses like this except at Prom, though you could get away with wearing that, with a different tie of course, to a lot of dress functions."

John put his cigarette out in the planter next to the back steps. "who the fuck goes to, let alone says dress functions?"

"Well you never know money bags; your girlfriend might." He snarled a little, "yeah, uh, will you show me how to do up this noose?"

Sarah put out her smoke and followed John in the house. The boots were industrial and something he refused to budge on. Sarah taught John how to do a very competent Windsor knot and he was running a brush through his hair when the doorbell rang.

John didn't rush since he knew Sarah would open it and do the appropriate gushing. Claire had refused to let him see her dress, so he hoped the muted pink tie would match – and well if it didn't he could always go without. He almost hoped it didn't now that he thought about it. One last look in the mirror and he spun himself out of the small room and out to the hall where he was stopped in his tracks. John's only initial thought was holy fuck she's gorgeous.

Robert noticed John's stunned reaction before Claire did; she and Sarah having one of those women's conversations that moved faster than men could understand or follow. He grinned and tapped Claire on the shoulder. He had not been sold on the dress since it was strapless but Claire managed to sway him when she put the entire outfit together. She had long grey gloves on that went just past her elbow to cover her scars and a lacey shawl over her shoulders in case she got cold. His little girl did indeed look beautiful. Her dress was pink with a grey lace overlay, so it muted the pink but brought out how delicate her skin was. John's tie was almost the exact same color as the dress, which impressed Robert.

Claire turned around and suddenly looked both shy and stunned. "John you look awesome. Um, do you like the dress?"

John strode down the hallway right up to Claire and kissed her thoroughly. "Princess you are beyond fucking beautiful." Claire smirked, "you have lipstick on you now."

John's response was, "damn it" then he looked at her mouth, "yeah well your's is smudged, so we both have to fix it, now don't we?" He grabbed her hand, walking quickly to the bathroom, and finally the door to the bathroom shut solidly behind them.

Robert took a deep breath and let it out as a laugh. "I'm not sure I'm ok with them behind a closed door after that kiss. I think it turned up the heat in here."

Sarah laughed, "Want some coffee? Yeah, they are kind of passionate together, whether fighting or kissing, it's not dull. "Sure, I'd love coffee," He sat down at the kitchen table looking down at his hands.

Sarah set two cups of coffee down, "want to hang with me for the evening? Because I am still having some trouble walking I got out of chaperoning the dance. Part of me is happy; part of me would have loved to act the princess one more time. Claire looks really stunning by the way. So, gonna tell me what's wrong?"

Robert looked up, "sorry, I wasn't really listening." Sarah cut him off with a wave of her hand and remarked, "I only said two things of actual importance, both questions."

Robert smiled and looked at her, "I would love to spend the evening with you while our kids get up to who knows what, and later?"

At that moment the two kids came down the hall bantering, "How am I gonna ruin the fucking dress? If I can't touch you does that mean I get out of fucking dancing too?"

Claire took John in stride. She had decided, after a pretty impressive meltdown this morning that nothing was going to ruin her day. "Of course you don't get out of dancing silly, and you know what I meant, so don't play like you don't." She spun and ran her hands down his tie and lapels. "John Bender you are so handsome today I just don't know what to do." He grinned, "I can think of a few things but I'm pretty sure the others will be here too soon for you to re-primp."

They entered the kitchen and John reached into the fridge, he handed her a plastic flower box with a corsage of delicate pink roses, with a single grey rose in the middle. He started fiddling with his tie, "I uh, I hope you like it, I didn't know there was grey in your dress either, but I really…" Claire cut him off by throwing herself into his arms. "It's perfect, marvelous, perfectly marvelous." She kissed him soundly, "now I am wondering if I should just stick to gloss, since I keep getting the lipstick all over you." Sarah took the corsage from Claire's hand, and pulled it out, "it's a wrist corsage; I might just bar John from shopping the way you have Rob. I suppose it's worth it in the end, but watching it is agony. He spent an hour cursing before picking this out for you." She handed the delicate corsage to John who slipped it over Claire's wrist.

Robert stood up, "Shall we take some pictures out back?" The four of them went out the back door to the bench between the two garden beds. The flower bed was a riot of blooms Claire and Sarah had put in, and the vegetable garden was full of green, but not food yet. Sarah had to remind Claire that fall was harvest, not spring. The two posed for several pictures, and just as they were finishing the limousine pulled in front of the house, and out poured four very excited teenagers. Brian and Andy both looked fairly traditional, Brian's tux even had tails. Each boy had an element which matched their partners' dress. Allison was beautiful in a simple black gown which was fitted until it flared out at her knees. Lauren, Brian's new girlfriend, was in a Lavender gown that was very fairy tale, with more crinoline than Sarah rightfully could deal with, and Brian had on a Lavender cummerbund.

The whole group had a few pictures taken by Sarah and Robert, with a variety of cameras. Finally John and Claire were done with pictures, and told the others that. Brian started to whine a little but Lauren kicked him, then fixed his hair, and straightened his glasses. He grinned at her and leaned in to kiss her, she turned her head so he kissed her cheek. She chuckled at the look of concern on his face, "I have lipstick on sweetie, and do you really want to wear it?" Sarah and Robert said goodbye to John and Claire, who intended to stay at the hotel for the night, it only worried Robert enormously, but he was remaining calm. The teens piled into the limo and headed off to their prom night.

Sarah and Robert both let out a sigh of relief. Sarah curled up on the couch, "damn, I wonder if every teen is this exhausting."

Robert sprawled out in Sarah's favorite easy chair. "You've got me, but it's been a hell of a day getting here, and I am certain you got the better deal by having to deal with a boy." Sarah threw a pillow at him, "remember who met the girls for their spa day? Sure I'm not going to bitch about a manicure and facial but the chattering of the three of them made me a little homicidal. Ok, so do we order pizza or forage in the kitchen?"

Robert said he'd rather neither of them had to work, so they settled on pizza. A few weeks before, Sarah realized Rob hadn't ever had home delivery pizza. He was trying to become more familiar with the world Sarah lived in. He regularly had to sort of be told to put his damn money away. In his world, you never turned down someone else paying, but Sarah somehow saw it as charity, and Robert had no idea how change that belief. He didn't want anything from her. He continued to sort of think this through for a moment, nope; even he didn't believe he didn't want anything from Sarah. He wanted to be a part of her life, but then he wasn't sure he really knew her. Maybe he should just follow the advice Claire gave him before he left for the divorce hearing this morning.

Rob rolled his head on the sofa, more relaxed than he usually was. "I think I'm all worn out, but I was wondering if the two of us could sit and talk for a while."

Sarah arched an eyebrow, "Is this something we'll need alcohol for?" Robert laughed, "I thought you were a teetotaler, but I don't know, perhaps if we play truth or dare or maybe twenty questions."

Sarah replied, "I am not a teetotaler, I have simply seen too many people destroyed by alcohol to use it lightly. It's a potent drink. However, I wouldn't mind getting drunk with you; I think you just might be fun. Besides we don't have to be parents tonight." She stood up, "Come on."

Rob stood up, "where are we going?" Sarah arched a brow, "The liquor store."

He laughed, "I haven't been to a liquor store since college."

Sarah choked as she got in the car, "How the hell do you get booze? I mean wasn't Karen, isn't Karen, I don't know what the term is, but isn't she an alcoholic?"

Robert chuckled, "uh, well if I say it you are going to give me shit about being born with a silver spoon."

Sarah was laughing so hard tears came to her eyes, "Gold spoon hon, your parents wouldn't degrade you with silver of all things." She'd barely gotten the sentence out when he called her a bitch. Once the two of them stopped laughing she drove to the liquor store, "so what's your poison?"

"Well it depends on the reason I am drinking, if I am searching for a night of debauchery I suppose I'd go with good Bourbon or maybe some good Rum. Oh, and I'm happy to drink with you but you are letting me buy the booze, and don't fucking argue with me. I spent the morning, while you were getting a facial in court, so please don't argue with me tonight."

Sarah squeezed his arm, "God, I'm sorry, I bet the morning really sucked."

Robert chuckled kind of mirthlessly, "I believe that's one of the grander understatements of the world. I don't relish playing the part of an ogre, but somehow that woman brings it out in me in spades." Sarah gave him a half hug, the picked up a bottle of good bourbon, one of good scotch, and one of good rum. Robert promised to take them with him when he left. They picked up pizza they ordered from a pay phone on their way back from the liquor store. Once they arrived back at Sarah's and got comfortable she reopened the conversation, "So want to tell me the bad news about this morning?"

Robert burst out laughing, "well it's strange ok, here's where I wanted to sort of play tit for a tat. In order for me to explain this morning I have to give you some information about myself and my past. So, are you up for it? I'll even start by giving you all the morning's gory details."

Sarah thought about it for a moment, and realized she really did trust him. It might have been the first time in her life to be able to really say that about someone. Now, there were several people in her life she really trusted, and no one more than Robert. "Alright, I'm game. Do you want to eat first? Drink first?" Robert shrugged, "we already have food on our plates, so let's start by eating, and I'll keep you entertained with stories of the wretched morning." Sarah got comfy and ready to listen.

"Ok, first of all I come from old money." Sarah responded with a very sarcastic, "Nooo…I never would have guessed." Robert lauged and nearly choked on his pizza. "Are you going to interrupt me after I say everything?" Sarah vigorously shook her head, "certainly not everything." He rolled his eyes, "Ok, as I was saying, I come from really old money as in old world nobility. So before I was allowed to marry she had to sign a prenuptial agreement, as did I. It literally put limitations on how much she could get, especially under the circumstances. I admitted to infidelity, but apparently my lawyer found information that she had never been faithful, her first affair was within a week of returning home from our honeymoon. Information even I was shocked to hear. My family had a private investigator following her. Another long story really, but anyway. She asked me about Claire, apparently she's been calling Claire's phone; trying to reach her, but Claire wants absolutely nothing to do with her.

"I thought, I thought in the beginning we really had something. God, I loved her. She was fiery and passionate about everything. I know now that she was really bitchy and superficial, but I guess love blinds us all in some ways. Anyway, since the marriage hadn't technically been approved, another long story, but apparently my family kept some kind of file on her, at least that's who I expect did it. My lawyer got a delivery yesterday, no return address, no information on who sent it, full of all her indiscretions. Between that and the assault charge on file from Claire she has no right to see Claire at all. Any interactions are to be initiated by Claire. She's getting alimony, but apparently there are even some restrictions there. The pre-nup was actually read aloud; it said something like 'if at the time of the dissolution of the marriage she doesn't have a career, she has 5 years to establish one. She may not expect to live on Standish money for the remainder of her years.' She was screaming at me, screaming that she didn't know, she couldn't have known. The judge told her to pipe down if he'd been married to such a bitch he wouldn't have given her one red cent. Her hysterical sobbing; fuck, even that hurt; I never meant for things to end that way." At the end of this speech Robert took both of their plates to the kitchen and returned with the bottles of Rum and Whiskey, as well as a couple of shot glasses." He started by downing two shots. "There's my shitty morning."

She looked at Robert, and poured a shot of Rum in her can of coke. "That it?" He sat down laughing. "Sadly no, I had one of those cursed attacks of consciousness, as I heard Claire in her room crying. I think I miss that horrible old mansion. Not that where we live is small, but it's smaller, and well I can hear her when she's crying. I felt dreadful because she never imagined her mother not being there for her, and she thought she was being unfair to you because she missed her. She doesn't mean the woman who was last around, but the mom she had before she started drinking and well, Claire may be mixing up nannies with Karen for any actual love from woman. Still she thought she was asking to much from you without giving enough. Before you interrupt me I told her she was being silly. Fuck, I really hate seeing my little girl cry." He drank another shot. "Ok, now you have to tell me something that stops me from being morose about a life that doesn't suck."

Sarah knocked back 3 shots, and took a deep breath. "Well, I was born Sara Terre, in a suburb outside of Milwaukee. My parents were druggies whose next fix was far more important than their last mistake. I am pretty sure my mom worked as a whore when money was down but I'm not positive about it. Sam, the guy my mother was married to was supposedly a mechanic, but I never saw him do an honest day's work. So I grew up in a really fucked up environment." Robert started to say something, but Sarah held up her hand, "You've got to let me get through this; I don't think I have ever told anyone the full story." She held up her empty shot glass, "another?" He nodded but got up, went to the kitchen to grab larger glasses and something to hold ice in. He found what he was looking for and brought it all back in the living room, as well as the pizzas and some cookies he found. She grinned, "I see you went foraging." He shrugged and blushed a little, poured them each a double shot in the larger glasses. "Ok, now please continue."

Sarah threw back the shots and started again, "When I was thirteen I was pulled from my parents by social services. Sam had been raping me, and selling me to get drugs. The last guy who was willing to make the trade turned out to be a cop. So, for the next 5 years I was in and out of foster homes, some worse than my original home, some better. I got an education because I saw it as a ticket out. Not long after I turned 18 I met a guy I thought would be my savior. Sadly he was a druggie too, and when I say druggie, I don't mean smokes pot once in a while or hell even daily, no Mike was a heroin junkie. However, he knocked me up and I wanted that baby so much, someone on whom I could pour the love I had to give and get that love returned by someone who didn't hurt me. One day I ran to the store, Mike even offered to watch 2 year old Joey, but when I got home I found the baby at the bottom of the steps" and she whispered, "dead. He'd bled out before his junkie of a father even checked on him. So I divorced him, and I believe he got a child endangerment charge against him, but he'd found my parents. I don't know if it was a misguided attempt to be nice or a fucked up revenge plot, but I suddenly had druggies and bikers, who Sam and Dory, my mother, had fallen in with, showing up at my door and calling to harass me. Hell, I even got death threats. I got my boy's ashes and sprinkled them over a field my grandparents owned; they were, are…I don't know anymore, but I did that, then packed what would fit in my car and moved the hell out of there. It only took me a couple of months to get the name change through and then within a couple of weeks I got offered a temp job at Shermer, and then it turned into a real one." She poured another shot for each of them and said, "The rest, as they say, is history." She downed the shot, waited for him to do the same, and said, "Ok, I'm done so you can fire away with the questions."

Robert got up, walked over to Sarah, and knelt down in front of her. The thought occurred to him that he hadn't been on his knees since he was a kid, he hadn't even proposed on his knee. It was dismissed without even really paying attention to it. Instead, he moved forward and pulled Sarah to him, so he was kneeling between her legs and he wrapped her in a hug. The kind of hug he had only ever really given to Claire. He whispered to her, "Sarah I am sorry life has treated you so poorly." He just held her for a moment and she began to cry.

Robert pulled away, "God Honey, I'm sorry, did I say something wrong?" She chuckled a little, and put her hand on his cheek. "No, it's just been a long time since I was held like that, and um, I really liked it." She sighed and kind of deflated, "I feel like a huge weight is off my shoulders. I was kind of, I don't know, afraid you would be mad at me for not telling you sooner."

He sat back on his knees and just looked at her for a moment before wiping her tears away with this thumbs. "I have spent my life with people who keep secrets." He cradled her face in his hands and put his forehead against Sarah's, he grinned a little at her, "Oh, and thanks for letting me get all that crap about the _crazy_ woman I have spent the last decades living with, since I know you were sitting in the back of the courtroom for moral support. I just want to know how you got by Claire."

Sarah started laughing and soon so did Robert. The two of them moved to lie on the floor, continued eating, drinking, talking, and laughing. They shared stories they hadn't ever told anyone, and asked about questions like favorite color and music. Getting to know each other in a way neither of them had ever done with anyone. They fell asleep on the floor, Rob on his back, Sarah with her head on his stomach.


	38. Chapter 38

sorry for the long break, the holidays have gotten in the way. Here is another chapter, which I thought was going to be the end but there are a couple more coming as we wind up for the finish. Hope you enjoy.

The breakfast club gang arrived at Prom, in style, just after 7:30; they were announcing people as they entered, and a small line had formed. Claire and John waited for the others to line up so they were last. John seemed reluctant to get in line, but on the other hand he didn't want to lose track of the others. So they were standing in line, but Claire noticed John clenching and unclenching his fists. She grabbed the hand closest to her, and whispered in his ear, "What's wrong, sweetheart?"

He shook his head, "nothing, not here anyway. I'll drag you off to a secluded location and we can discuss it then." He gave her a lascivious smirk.

Claire shook her head gently and squeezed his hand, "Have I said thank you yet?"

John was thrown by that question, "for what?"

They were the next couple to be called; Claire handed the student, whose name she couldn't place, their tickets and they stepped forward into the ballroom of the hotel. "John Bender accompanied by the beautiful Claire Standish." After each name there was a bit of applause, after their names were called many of the student stood up, giving them a standing ovation. John leaned over, "What the fuck princess?" She shrugged, "I've no idea."

Vernon grabbed the mic from the guy announcing. "Alright, that's enough, you are holding up the line for others." He handed the mic back and walked off stage. John started laughing and instantly felt better. Ruffling Vernon's feathers was one of his favorite past times. If that went away as well he simply didn't know what he'd do. Claire gently pulled him along to the table where Allison and Andy were sitting. Lauren had already pulled Brian on to the dance floor. The last couple at their table was none other than Spaz and Lisa Talmand. Spaz looked almost as uncomfortable as John felt. He pulled out Claire's chair for her; Sarah had drilled some basic etiquette for the night.

About a week before prom, Sarah woke up in the middle of the night to get a glass of water and found John pacing the living room like a caged tiger. She scratched her head, "What's wrong, John?" Sarah sleepily asked. "Nothing. Why? I didn't wake you did I?" Sarah responded sarcastically, "yeah cause your pacing is so fucking noisy. What's wrong?"

He pulled his pipe out of his pocket and held it up; Sarah shrugged in answer and walked into the kitchen to make sure the window was open. She got her glass of water, turned on the light and sat in her normal seat at the table. John carefully packed the bowl took a deep drag and said, "I don't want to make an ass out of myself or make Cherry look bad, but I don't belong at a fucking prom. What am I supposed to do? I don't even know how to dance, unless you call a fucking mosh pit dancing." He passed the bowl and when he was finished ranting he looked up at Sarah. Her response was unexpected, "I can teach you everything you need to know, if you are interested."

So it was that John kept startling Claire with the unexpected. That pleased him immensely, she was delightfully happy, but a little off balance. John liked keeping her on her toes. When he sat down everyone was staring at him, "What? Can't a guy be chivalrous occasionally; I'm certainly fucking dressed for it." Claire leaned over and kissed him on the cheek and whispered in his ear, "Thank you love, I'll be sure to repay your kindness later." As she moved away she blushed at her own comment. The blush made John ridiculously happy. An upbeat, big band song came on. Many of the students left the dance floor – John stood up and put his hand out in front of Claire, "Dance with me Cherry."

Claire smiled and stood up, "anytime, anywhere, but I don't um know how to dance to this." John smirked, "Just follow my lead and relax, you'll be fabulous." John led her out on to the dance floor and showed Claire just how well they could dance together. At the end of the song they noticed they were the only two on the dance floor, and they were given a round of applause at the end. The two just grinned at one another, and then quartet that was on stage started a waltz; John pulled Claire close to him and they began dancing again. Neither spoke, but Claire laid her head on his shoulder. She never knew how exhilarating and sexy dancing could be, but leave it to John Bender to show her. As the waltz ended, the band returned and started with a pop song, and John led Claire off the dance floor. She said, "I never knew…"

John smirked and interrupted her, "There is still a lot about me you don't know sweets." She kind of half spun and ran into his chest; "Well I'm learning new things about us both, everyday." And after making that statement she kissed him soundly. John was grateful for the dance lessons Sarah had given him, though he'd never admit it to a soul. Everyone had far more fun than any of them had expected, even Claire. The food was good, Claire and John danced whenever the regular band was gone and the small orchestra took their place, which pleased and surprised Claire. He wouldn't dance to any new pop song, but led her through slow dances, and even showed off a little. Always with a sardonic smirk for the people Claire once considered friends. She realized he was, in his way, protecting her. She was even more excited about her plan for later that night.

Allison had gotten her and Andy a room, though he didn't know it yet. She and Claire had talked earlier in the week.

It was Tuesday night; Allison was in her room drawing when the phone rang. She was expecting Andy to call so she jumped for the phone. "Hello hon." Instead it was Claire.

Ali heard Claire giggle a little, "I get to be hon now too?"

"Hi Claire, I was expecting Andy to call, but to what do I owe the pleasure of this call?'

"Well I kinda wanted to talk to you about something, I need some advice. Are you busy? Can I come over for a bit?"

Allison was a bit surprised but happy to have Claire over, the two of them had become very close; in fact, she was one of Claire's last female friends. When she arrived the two of them walked past Allison's parents who of course, paid no attention to them. They reached Allison's room, Claire was amazed at Allison's talent for drawing, she thought she could sit and stare at them for hours. However, that was not the purpose of today's visit.

The two girls got comfy on the bed, Claire started, "Ok, I need you to swear you won't tell anyone what I am about to say."

Allison shrugged, "of course."

Claire took a deep breath, "Ok, about a month ago – actually, exactly a month ago – I went to planned parenthood." Allison's eyes got really wide.

Claire slapped her knee, "not for _that_ reason! I, uh, I got birth control." If possible Allison's eyes got even wider; she whispered, "Have you, you know, like, gone all the way with Bender?"

Claire shook her head, "not yet, but well I was thinking about Prom, except that we're all going to be sharing the room my Dad got us. Do you and Andy or Brian and Lauren plan to stay the night?"

Allison replied, "Well I had been thinking about something similar with Andy, but I bet I could get us another room. Hold on a sec."

Allison boldly walked to her parent's room, took her father's credit card out of his wallet, and went back to her room. She grabbed her phone and plopped back down on her bed. Allison proceeded to get a room for her and Andy on her Dad's credit card and then she put it back where she found it. "There, that's all done now. And come on, do you really think Brian is going to stay the night? Like his parents would even let him."

Claire laughed, "You're probably right. I'm so excited. I've been thinking about it a lot, and well we've done just about everything, but go all the way. I didn't tell anyone about my little trip, but it wasn't a terrible exam, and the pills were free. I was told they might make me feel pretty crappy, but I haven't had any real negative effect, I haven't even gained weight, which I was afraid of.

Allison giggled, "sorry I got stuck on you've done just about everything but…can I get more details please!" Mostly Claire said no, but the two girls spent time talking about what they had done and wanted to. They talked about the plans for prom, and what might happen after graduation.

About the middle of prom evening John and Andy split from the girls to talk to people they knew. John was surprised by how many people he knew and actually didn't hate who were there. There were plenty of people he hated there. Steph Rodgers was there with some guy no one knew. Strickler had been expelled and was banned from prom. Some of the students tried to put up a fight about it, but he'd been put on house arrest until the arraignment, so it was kind of a token gesture. Andy's wrestling buddies gave him shit for a very short time about Allison, when they noticed that he was more relaxed, and was wrestling even better they quit complaining and treated her like they did any of the other guys girlfriends, probably not much of a step up but there was no active animosity.

Allison and Claire used that time to get a few things ready in their respective rooms. Claire had gotten a smoking room for John, and so she could set up some candles. She did started to do that, but decided one candle was enough for now and put their clothes away. She pulled out a beautiful negligee she'd bought with money she'd saved from her birthday, so there was no paper trail about it for her father to find. She put the box in a drawer with her things. They met back downstairs both giggling madly. Each girl went to find their respective dates. Claire found John talking to Spaz, and a few of the other guys she knew from under the bleachers. She came up quietly and wrapped her gloved arms around his waist so she could whisper in his ear, "evening stranger come here often?" A testament to how much John had changed, and blossomed from that day in March to now, just a couple of months later; he didn't jump and get angry when she touched him by surprise. "Well hi there sweets, I was thinking of stepping up to our room, for a quick smoke break. Want to join?"

Claire was very glad she hadn't put all the candles out, only put their clothes away. "Sure babe." Claire, John, and two of his friends headed out to the elevator. "Hey, where are you kids going?" Vernon appeared out of nowhere at the doors to the ballroom. John smirked, "Hey Dick. I didn't see you earlier. We are headed up to check out _our_ room. Do you have a problem with that?"

"Alright, well I best not smell booze of you all when you get back." Vernon tried to sound official and tugged at his tux jacket.

Claire smiled sweetly as the elevator doors opened, "Do you really think I could hide booze in a dress like this Mr. Vernon?" The door closed before he could answer. Everyone in the elevator burst out laughing. They got to the room and Claire opened the door, she held it open for John's friends, but she grabbed John as he passed to give him a kiss and a shy smile. He tilted his head as though he were trying to read a particularly difficult text.

The group smoked a couple of joints; Claire lit the candle she'd set out. Spaz asked, "What's that for? Mood lighting?" While he was closer to the truth than Claire cared for, it was not why she'd done it now. "Well the fire and the smell of the candle help to mask the smell of the grass. Now why didn't you think of that?" She sarcastically stated before she sat down primly on the bed next to John. Spaz and a guy named Joe were sitting on the couch in their room, they were arguing about rolling another joint.

John pulled himself closer to Claire, kissed her neck gently, "do we really have to go back downstairs?" Claire let him hold on to her and even nuzzled him back a little, "Yeah, we at least have to say goodbye." Claire had taken a few hits, though she preferred John's shotgun method and now she was feeling relaxed but not out of it, so she turned down the next round that was passed. She went to the bathroom to touch up her makeup and hair. When she came out the boys were getting ready to go as well. Spaz opened the door, he and Joe went out it, but John grabbed Claire around the waste and let the door shut behind them. He pinned her up against the wall and started kissing her shoulders. "I really don't want to go back down there Cherry."

What John was doing was totally making Claire forget her big plans. When he kissed the front of her throat and cleavage she came back to herself. "Just hold your horses big guy. Let's go say goodbye to everyone, ok? Then we can come back up here and have the rest of the night to ourselves."

John pulled back, "I thought we were sharing the space with Sporto and Kelpto?" Claire kissed him and laughed, "Nope, we have this space magnificently to ourselves for the night. So let's go and get this done, sooner out, sooner back in."

John stepped away from Claire reluctantly. "Have I told you how fucking beautiful you are?" Claire blushed and smile just a little shyly at him. "You have, but it makes me feel good to hear it." They made their way back to the main ballroom; Claire feeling a little stoned, John feeling very comfortable. There was another slow song playing. Claire tugged on his arm, "Just one more dance?"

John smiled down at his girlfriend, "Sure, Princess, one more." They walked to the dance floor and once again John showed off a natural talent for dancing her around the floor. Claire was sure heaven was in his arms when he held her tightly. After the one dance they headed back to the table where the rest of the group was already seated. Andy spoke up, "You guys look awesome out there, didn't know you could dance Bender."

John smirked, "I'm chock full of surprises ain't I Cherry?" She blushed and chuckled, "yep, all kinds." She sent a look to Allison and the two girls started laughing. Andy, John, and Brian all looked kind of confused which made Lauren join in the laughter. The band stood up to take a break; Vernon, and two members of the student council took to the stage. "It's that time folks, what you've all been waiting for; it's time to see who made prom court and who are our new king and queen."

Most of the room broke into applause; Claire looked a little sad, and John put his hand on her lower back to show support. He knew they should have just stayed in their damn room. Two of Claire's old friends made prom court: Jenn and Bethany. Neither girl would have anything to do with Claire any more. Everyone expected Steph Rodgers to get Prom Queen, though no one was positive who would make prom king since Tom Strickler wasn't in the running. Two guys who were in the popular clique and on student council filled out the rest of the court.

Claire leaned back into John's touch and listened with actual interest, which was more than anyone else at the table could muster. "Ladies and Gentlemen, you all know that Prom King and Queen, as well as the court are based on votes from the senior class; so even I don't know the names on this envelope. Mr. Vernon, want to give us a hint before I open it?" Someone in the audience hollered, just tell us already damn it. The student opened the envelope and stared at it for a moment, as though he was stupefied. "Uh, Ladies and Gents, the 1983 Prom Queen of Shermer High School is… Claire Standish." Claire sat there stunned. John gave her a little push, "You'd better get up there cherry, or they'll choose someone else."

Claire stood up and began walking to the stage, as she climbed the stairs she was still stunned, and now a little shaky about being out in front of all these people. Steve! That's this dweeb's name, Claire thought to herself as he put a tiara on her head and Mr. Vernon put a sash over her and handed her a bouquet of roses. The class gave her a standing ovation. Claire was beaming and still stunned.

Vernon stepped up the mic, "settle down folks, we have one more to get through." Steve, the student council pulled Vernon aside and the two of them appeared to be having a discussion about the name on the card. Claire overheard John's name as the two of them tried to figure out if it was a joke or not. The kid went so far as pulling out a rule book of some kind – Vernon stepped up to the microphone and said, "it's gonna be just a minute." One of the students, stood up and said, "Just read the damn name, apparently the students voted on someone you don't approve of. But you read the queen without all this bullshit. Just fucking read it Vernon." Steve looked at Vernon and shrugged, he stepped up to the microphone and said, "The Prom King for 1983 Shermer Prom is: John Bender."

Andy, Brian, and Allison pushed him up to the stage, holding back their laughter. Once he got to the stage, a crown was put on his head and some kind of scepter was handed to him. He walked over to Claire with a mild scowl on his face, "What the fuck princess?" Claire was startled, he thought she did this. She started laughing. "John I had nothing to do with this, I swear. I dropped off the committee right after Sarah was hurt." Suddenly they realized everyone was waiting for them. John gritted his teeth a little and looked at Claire. "You have to take the lead here toots; I wasn't even supposed to be here."

Claire put a big smile on her face and said, "smile and act like you don't hate me." John was slightly taken back by her irritated tone. He put his trade mark smile on and the two of them walked hand in hand to the front of the stage and bowed. Claire kind of pulled him over the mic, "This is an unexpected gift from everyone. I know that the bulk of you voted in the last few weeks and so I want to say thank you for being better than we expected." She kissed John on the cheek and whispered in his ear, "Do you want to say something?"

John walked up to the mic and said, "I have no idea how this happened, I thought you had to run and shit, but uh, thanks I think." The band leader came up and asked what song they wanted to dance to. Claire looked at John completely confused and beginning to get upset with herself. John whispered something to the teacher and they walked off the stage to lay their things down. The quartet from the orchestra of the school took the stage; almost everyone had forgotten they were still there. A beautiful waltz started and John, who took to this lesson better than any of the other dances Sarah tried to teach him, pulled Claire very close to him; he swept her off her feet and turned her on to the point of near pain. Afterwards, everyone including the musicians gave the couple a round of applause, which was the only think that broke them away from one another. John shook hands with the orchestra director who complemented his dancing skills. And then they were swamped by everyone except the 'popular crowd' who sat at the back of the ballroom bitching and trying to figure out how this could have happened.

After nearly an hour of various kinds of congratulations they were tired of people. They said their goodbyes to the rest of the gang who gave them both a great deal of harassment at their new titles. They were finally able to slip away; once they got on the elevator and the doors closed on just the two of them, they looked at one another and started to laugh. They were still laughing when they got to their room; Claire had succeeded in getting a few things set up so when John opened the door there were candles lit, and a box on the table next to the bed.

The look of wonder on his face was worth more than any school title. She was overjoyed to be able to give him this gift. "I have a couple of presents for you tonight." John said, "um, ok, I didn't know this was something I was supposed to buy gifts for." Claire leaned down and kissed him soundly. "It's not, just something I want to do. So um, did you want to smoke that bowl you're fingering first or open the present over there?"

He looked up at her in surprise. "I didn't think you'd noticed that, but uh, I'll take the gift box."

Claire smiled and sat down next to him. "I'm betting you wanted a toke from the moment they called your name, and I definitely noticed it took Alli, Andy, and Brian to get you to the stage. I figured out how you got the title." He stopped pulling the ribbon and looked up at her expectantly. "Well are you gonna keep me in suspense?" She grinned, "open that first." She sat kind of primly with her legs tucked under her, she was surprised the dress let her do this, but it wasn't full of crinoline like the princess dress Lauren had on.

John lifted the lid to the box and something flimsy and pink was in the box, he looked confused and then looked to Claire. She had a smirk on her face, "well it's kind of a gift to you.. but only well.. uh, be right back." She grabbed the box off his lap and went into the bathroom. She stuck her head back out, "don't smoke it all before I get back." He laughed and suspected he had the world's best girlfriend.

She'd been voted prom queen. She was the most popular girl at Shermer, she felt like she had her cake and now she got to eat it. As for John Bender as prom king; well apparently one of his stoner friends, Joe maybe, overheard a couple of the Richie clique using John as the antithesis of what was possible in the world. Well it pissed Joe off and he had been looking for a way to get back at the guys who made the comment. In another world entirely, it seems that the student council forced the prom committee to add a write in position to the prom ballots. Some synchronicity happened after John pulled off the whole graffiti incident and awards. So he'd been made prom king by the student body, not the committee as it usually worked out.

Claire felt a shiver of delight, she wasn't sure if the evening could get more perfect. She pulled out the rose colored negligee. It was made of silk and felt decadent against her skin. She looked in the mirror and fixed her hair some, took a deep breath, and walked out to the hotel room. Claire felt herself flush as John looked up and saw her in the mirror. Even through the mirror she could feel the heat in his eyes light up. She leaned against the wall in a fairly provocative way and said, "So the day we met you called me queenie as an insult; does that mean I can call you kingly?"

"Hell no." John was up and in front of Claire in a heartbeat. "holy fuck you look like a fucking goddess." He ran his hand down her side. "What the fuck is that made from, it's amazing. It looks and feels fantastic." John pushed her up against the wall and started kissing her deeply. Claire kissed back with abandon. John picked her up and carried Claire to the bed. He stood up and pulled his tie off. He sat down and pulled off his doc martens then he came back to the bed.

Several hours later, as they were lying naked next two one another trying to catch their breath. Claire rolled over to face John. She brought herself up against him. He'd given her more orgasms than she could count, and he had unexpectedly only cum once. His self control astounded her; he had proven that he had an iron clad will more than once. Claire started to draw on his chest, "I have one more present for you tonight." John rolled over to face her, he was already hard again he reached out and began massaging her breast, "what more could I possibly want princess?" He leaned in to put his mouth where his hand had just been. He reached down and began building the pleasure in her again. She surprised John by rolling them over, straddling him in on smooth motion. "Ha! Cheerleading paid for something." Claire leaned back and moved to truly straddle him. "What would you think about," she moaned a little as she began to push herself down on him. "Hold … Fuck princess, Claire baby… you… fuck that feels good. I uh.." a long moan was all that came out of his mouth. Claire giggled and moved herself up and down then took a deep breath, relaxed her body as much as she could and she slammed herself all the way down so she was sitting straddled across John, sheathing him entirely. She put her hands on his chest, and failed at holding back a moan, she was still for a moment, allowing her body to adjust to him.

"God, sweetheart, you've got to move, I don't know how long I can hold back." Claire let herself lie down on top of him, every movement making her whimper or moan at the change of position. John flipped them, and proceeded to kiss Claire till she was breathless and panting. He held himself above her, trying to be as still as he could. As he was kissing her neck, he felt her buck up to meet him – giving him the permission he needed to start moving. "I'm gonna have to pull out soon sweets, you didn't give me time to get protection." In response, Claire wrapped her legs around him holding him within her, "I trust you, and I got on the pill just over a month ago. Now move, please… god John… fuck, please."

He kissed her chin and her neck, he nipped her ear and said, "It'll never be just fucking princess… but do you mean, this?" He began to move in and out faster and harder than before. Just as he finally gave in and began fucking her as gently as he could force himself to be, which wasn't very. Claire screamed as her body began spasming and clenching around him forcing him to cry out her name.

John collapsed half on top of her. Claire began kissing his head and gently rubbed every place she could touch. He kissed her nose and dragged himself off the bed, "be right back lover." Claire felt herself flush at the new nick name. He returned with a wet wash cloth; Claire asked, "what's that for?" John smiled affectionately, " to clean you up princess, unless you want to sleep in a wet spot?" Claire wrinkled her nose and threw the cover off, then flushed at the forwardness of the move. This caused John to chuckle, he'd reached Claire and began to gently wipe between her legs. Once she was cleaned up he tossed the rag and climbed into bed to spoon against the exhausted and nearly insatiable girl. "So when did you do the whole pill thing, and why didn't you tell me?"

She snuggled back into John, "I told you tonight didn't I? And I did it 6 weeks ago, so I could be sure that when we did this we wouldn't have to worry. I haven't told anyone, because I wanted it to be a surprise." She sounded worried, sometimes she was so self doubting, John kissed her head and replied, "Oh baby, it certainly was that.. and uh.. thank you."

Claire squirmed around his arms so she could look at him. "You are most definitely welcome." She punctuated each word with a kiss. "so, what are you thanking me for anyway?"

John chuckled, "I don't know, everything babe; tonight most especially, but for take a chance on me."

Claire squirmed back around, and snuggled back into his arms, "I'm gonna sleep a little now." John kissed her gently, "You do that princess, I mean your highness." They both chuckled and Claire elbowed him.

Hit that little review button it keeps the muses happy so that I can finish the story... :)


	39. Chapter 39

Here's another chapter to assuage my inability to post for so long... I hope you enjoy.

The weeks that followed prom were crazy. Everyone had appointments to see lawyers of one sort or another, and there was always something to do. John bought himself a second hand 1968 mustang which he spent most of his free time underneath of. Claire didn't understand why he didn't just by a new one or take it to a mechanic. He shook his head and told her he wasn't going to even try explaining it. The rest of his time was split between school, his job at a garage, and with Claire. He realized quickly that the car had to take last place because his princess wanted his attention as often as she could get it; both between and the sheets and outside the bedroom on a host of other activities. One day he realized he was really living not just surviving, and it made life interesting but far more worthwhile than he'd believed possible, but life was not quite done throwing curve balls to John Bender.

After prom school was surreal for both John and Claire; people who normally wouldn't have spoken to either of them came up and shook their hands like they were some kind of celebrities. Claire thought she was used to popularity, but she hadn't ever understood what it really meant. The popular clique was as vindictive as ever trying to get a new smear campaign against Claire going, but very few people were interested and the ones instigating it were ratted out quickly.

John found the job as a mechanic at a place he'd been hanging around for years, but had never had the courage to go in when he looked like an abused rat. He went to the shop to ask where he could get a piece for his car, which turned into him working on the car at the shop after hours, it was sure more comfortable than Sarah's gravelly driveway, and he always made sure he could drive the car the next morning. As he lay beneath his car finishing up his new exhaust system he heard a pair of heels click. He rolled out from under the car and said, "Uh, we're closed." He stood up when he didn't hear the heels click away, and worked on getting the grease off his hands. What he saw was a woman he'd never met, but who looked richer than any of Claire's friends or their parents did. She was probably around 60, her hair was black with grey shot through it. He looked down and realized he'd have to go wash his hands. The woman had walked into the waiting room of the shop and sat down. John shook his head, "I'll be right with you."

He wanted to ask if the bitch was deaf, but his boss would kick his ass for being a jerk to anyone who looked as rich as she did. It was as though wealth literally came out of her pours. He went and washed his hands so they looked as good as Claire liked. He still had hopes of seeing her tonight. He walked into the office, and stepped behind the counter deftly while the lady was paging through a magazine. "Ma'am, we're closed, is there something I can do for you?" She looked up and studied him, it was damn disconcerting. "Has anyone ever told you that you have a piercing gaze?" John asked nonchalantly. "And would you mind telling me what you want, or does some cat have your tongue?"

She started to crack a smile then laughed. "I always figured you'd be a spitfire. Christina always had a razor tongue and wit when she chose to use them." She stood up and while John was probably six inches taller than her she was still an imposing figure. "I'm sorry ma'am, I am not sure who you are, and I still don't know what you want, but I'd like to finish putting the exhaust on my car and take my girlfriend out to dinner, so for the last time, what can I do for you?"

She extended a strong, thin hand with long manicured nails, "I'm Teresa Oliver, and if I am not terribly mistaken I am your grandmother. If you are interested, I'd like to take you to dinner. You may bring your girlfriend if you wish, but well, I am unused to a situation like this. Damn," she brought out a handkerchief and dabbed her eyes, "I only just heard about the terrible situation surrounding Christina's death, and well we, my late husband and I didn't treat her very well, but I would like the opportunity to know you."

John was stunned; perhaps gobsmacked would be a better way of saying it. He stood there blinking at this very rich looking old woman, "my grandmother?" was the only thing John could say, and even that came out incredulously. John looked back at his car in the bay of the shop and shrugged his shoulders, "why not. Unless you want to wait the half hour it will take to finish installing my new exhaust, you are driving. And if we're going anyplace I suspect is typical for you, I have to go home and shower."

She watched this young man, with grey shot through his hair, gather his bearings and settle into the idea of her as his grandmother. With a husband who was an attorney, then politician she'd spent her life watching people and she could read them pretty well. She saw a spiderweb of scars across his hand, and wariness in his eyes that spoke of an incredibly difficult life. His gaze was equally piercing as she knew hers could be, but she suspected it had been used towards different circumstances. She thought about it for a moment, "Since I wasn't sure you'd even speak to me, I haven't made reservations or anything, but I am old and can be rather cantankerous when I am hungry so could we leave sooner rather than later?"

John barked out a laugh, "I'll bet you can be cantankerous on a whim, and I'll bet even more that it doesn't take hunger to get you there."

Teresa Oliver smiled, it had been a long time since she'd met anyone quite like this young man. "Your name is John right?" He nodded his head and said nothing, but continued to put away the tools he'd been using, when he finished that he stripped off the jumpsuit he had on over his jeans and wife beater. Teresa saw his arms scarred he'd been whipped and burned; she quickly dropped her eyes. It took her a less than a moment to understand that he'd apparently been beaten severely and probably regularly. She took the blame firmly on her own shoulders; if she hadn't sent her daughter away her grandson would have lived a different life. John pulled a flannel on over the undershirt and buttoned it before asking, "So what should I call you? You just don't strike me as grandma, so I figured that was out, but I'm pretty sure you don't want me calling you Mrs. Oliver or some shit like that."

She arched an eyebrow at his succinct, if vulgar, summation of the situation. "You could call me Teresa, it is my name."

John shrugged, "wasn't sure if you were one of those rich folks who thought first names were too familiar." His statement was said with all the derision he felt for people who behaved that way, and she got the message. "So, I still need to shower, change, and I would like to pick up Claire as well; how do you want to do this?" He looked this woman over again, and if he thought about it much he could see his mom in her, but it was an odd fit.

She spread her hands out, "I believe I am the interloper in your territory. Tell me what you wish to do and we'll do it." John gave her a fairly evil smirk, "I wouldn't give a stranger a blank check if I were you;" he winked at her and walked back into the garage, "give me just a second." He wrote his boss a note about picking up the car tomorrow; he'd pay for the bay space if it was a problem. He started to write, something had come up, but decided his boss didn't give a fuck. John checked the space to make sure everything was put away, turned the light out, and joined Teresa in the office. "Ready?"

She stood up slowly, but gracefully, "whenever you are." John held the door for her and she walked right under his arm and towards a sleek black Jaguar. "Nice ride Teresa." John ran his hand along the side of the car, "she's a beauty." She smiled, "thank you, I like her. Everyone tells me I should get a driver, but why on earth would I want someone else to drive me around in my own car. I like to drive, and my beauty here, she drives so smoothly, and fast." She gave a smirk to John that was strangely like looking in the mirror, "what's the speed limit around here anyway?"

John outright laughed; "I think 25 through the residential neighborhood, and maybe 35 on the main streets. Turn right here." He directed her home, well to Sarah's place, but it really had become more of a home to John than the place he lived most of his life with his parents, and she went much faster than the speed limit. "Before we go in, let me give you a little explanation. I live here with a woman named Sarah Dearing, she's an English teacher at the high school. How I got here is a long story, but she is really important to me, catch my drift?" Teresa nodded, understanding that if she wanted any part of her grandson's life she needed to be nice to this woman, she prayed the woman was worth being nice to. She got out of the car and followed John to the front door.

John had been taken shopping by Claire and Sarah. While his style hadn't really changed his clothes were no longer ripped or dirty or stained. He felt better about himself and the clothes he wore, he no longer felt the need to slouch in his dirty, ripped old clothes and while he still layered his clothes it wasn't for the same reasons. "Hey Sarah; you home?" John asked as he took off his denim jacket and asked if Teresa wanted to hang her jacket as well. She shook her head, and heard from the other side of the small house, "I'm in the kitchen. Why do I fall for the same student nonsense each year and get talked into cooking for the year end celebration?"

John walked into the kitchen followed by Teresa. He smiled as she pulled brownies out of the oven. "Because you are a sucker. I'd like you to meet someone." Sarah stood up and wiped off her hands on the apron she was wearing, she tucked a stray hair behind her ear and looked at John expectantly. "Teresa this is Sarah Dearing; Sarah, this is my grandmother Teresa… shit I forgot your last name." He turned to Teresa.

"It's Oliver, the same name as your uncle George." John tilted his head a little. "Haven't seen him since I was a kid, so forgive me for not remembering. Mind if I leave you two ladies together so I can jump in the shower?" Teresa noticed he was asking Sarah not her if she minded being left without John. Sarah nodded, "go right ahead, before you start getting grease on everything." She cracked a grin because she knew that John tended to be extra careful not to get the house filthy with grease from work. Without another word John turned on his heel and walked down the hall to his room.

Sarah chuckled, "would you like to have a seat and can I get you something to drink? Water or Coffee is pretty much the choice right now." Teresa noticed a fresh pot of coffee, "I'll take some coffee, thank you." She sat down at the table and looked around her. The house was small, but comfortable. It was obvious that the woman living here wasn't wealthy, but she had many quality items and everything was clean. Sarah put down a small sugar bowl and a miniature pitcher for cream, then set a cup of coffee in front of the older woman and took a seat. "I wasn't sure how you took your coffee."

Neither woman was quite sure what to say, Teresa started, "Thank you for taking John in. As I understand it my daughter…. How do I say this…"

Sarah spoke up, "I don't mean to be out of line here, but your daughter was a crappy mother and took the cowards approach to trying to help John. He was in the hospital when she…did what she did. He's really a good kid, and he's been given the short end of the stick for too long now." Teresa heard the unspoken words in Sarah's commentary. This woman would not take kindly were she to upset the boy. Interesting, Teresa thought, they are fiercely loyal to one another. The kind of loyalty she was not used to amongst her friends or family. She found herself really enjoying Sarah Dearing's straight forwardness; it seemed to be a characteristic she shared with John, though Sarah was somewhat less colorful in her language.

She took a sip of coffee and started, "a few months back my husband passed away. He was…a stickler for a particular kind of behavior…and anyone who strayed from that antiquated set of morals was cut away without question. It's taken me this long to simply find John. I have heard all manner of rumors regarding my daughter, her husband and John. I don't know what to believe, but I wish I could have been a better mother to Christina. I am sorry to say I don't think I was ever very good at being motherly. Your brownies for instance, I have no idea how to cook."

Sarah smiled, and realized the woman was doing her best and didn't really know how to handle any of this. "Can I take it that you were married to a man whose husband's word was law?"

Teresa nodded, "something like that. He wasn't abusive or mean, but yes, he was rather firm."

Sarah continued, "Is that why you had no contact with your daughter, as I understand it?"

Again Teresa nodded, "Yes George, my husband, cut her out entirely and any desire I had to see my daughter was quashed pretty quickly. I met John once, when he was about 2; Though, I was forced to leave shortly after they arrived."

John got out of the shower, walked to his room and called Claire. On the second ring she picked up, "Hello." Just hearing her voice released some of the tension in John's shoulders. "Hey gorgeous, um an unexpected guest appeared at the shop and so instead of having dinner here we're going out."

Claire harrumphed at John, "are you going to tell me who showed up or do I have to guess? Where are we going? How should I dress?" John chuckled, "calm yourself princess. I have no idea where we are going, but as for who showed up, apparently I have a grandmother and from the way she behaves I'd say she's loaded, but she just showed up and is all, fuck I don't know, but Christ Cherry, I fucking need you here. I'm afraid I'm gonna offend the old bird." Claire was incredibly surprised at the news, "Do I need to tell you to breathe and just be yourself. If she doesn't like you then she's not worth your time. And this is coming from me, who doesn't know how not to behave according to expectations." He smiled and felt more settled within himself. "Just get your pretty little ass over here, alright?"

Claire laughed, "no problem sweetheart. I'll be there as soon as I can, give me a half hour? At least I am already showered." John smiled, "no shit, if we had to wait for one of your showers it would have been at least a couple of hours before you'd get here." Her response was, "shut up, and I'll see you soon." They hung up after a quick I love you to each other.

John poked his head into the kitchen he was drying the ends of his hair with a towel. "I just talked to Claire, she'll be here in just a bit, and I'll be out in a few as well." He was in Jeans and Teresa saw his back, she turned back to the kitchen and closed her eyes, and mouthed something. He'd grown comfortable enough around Sarah, and Claire, that he forgot his back was covered in scars. His bedroom door shut before Sarah quietly spoke up, "please do not ask him about his back or any of the other scars you see. He has only just grown comfortable with himself, and I don't want that ruined."

Teresa nodded, "may I ask you?"

Sarah shrugged, "It's not my story to tell really. He was very seriously physically abused by the man who called himself John's father. His mother was rarely able to shield him; at least that's what I tell myself. He also spent most of his life in poverty. If you show him pity he will be derisive, so I suggest you get ready for the ride that is John Bender. Claire, his girlfriend, reins him in a bit; however he simply rolls with the punches – I suggest you do the same. He's an amazing young man." Teresa was incredibly grateful to this woman. In the past, she might have believed she knew what was best. Since her husband had passed she found she wanted different things than he had, but apparently he controlled her enough to let go of all of the principles her parent's had taught her about being caring towards people.

John entered his room again, thinking 'fuck, I didn't remember to put a shirt on'. He really needed to be more fucking careful. His nerves were all kinds of on edge, so he packed a bowl and took a couple of hits. He put everything away and looked around his room. It did look like he lived there, but he was a damn sight neater than he had been at his folks house. That was how he thought about it. Did he really want to get to know this woman who had turned his mom out? Fuck it, why not. It was a calculated risk to open the door to this woman, but he was going to try it anyway. He pulled one of the black t-shirts Claire bought him, a clean pair of blue jeans, a long sleeved black button down that he left open, and his docs. He took another deep breath and decided he'd left her with Sarah long enough for her to get a read on the old broad.

Walking into the kitchen he smiled at Sarah and Teresa, poured himself a cup of coffee and leaned against the counter. "So, where would you like to go for dinner?" He asked Teresa, and then quickly turned to Sarah, "You haven't started dinner or anything, have you?" She shook her head, "nope."

He turned back to Teresa, "why haven't I heard anything from you before now?" He took a sip of coffee.

Teresa blushed a little and looked down at her hands, for a moment looking ashamed of herself. "Because I let my husband run my life, and by doing so l lost my children. I met you briefly when you were around 2, but George started a fight with Christina and we left."

John took another drink of coffee and wondered if she wanted sympathy of something; he didn't feel any sympathy she made her choices, so he said nothing. The silence which had fallen was not a comfortable one; John finally broke it, and said "so it was your husband who was the jackass?"

Sarah choked back a laugh and thought to herself, that's a perfect John response. Teresa looked mildly mortified; however, in the grand scheme of things the boy was right so she nodded. "I don't expect you take kindly to excuses so I won't offer any, suffice to say I have been rethinking many things since George passed away. It's taken me almost all of that time to find you. I didn't know your mother had given you her husband's last name."

John reached back and opened the kitchen window wider, pulled himself up to sit on the counter, and lit a cigarette. "According to the letter she left me, he adopted me; still don't know why cause the motherfucker never liked me."

Teresa's eyes squinted for a moment as though she was trying to remember something. "I'm not sure it was ever legally processed John. I must admit I hired a private detective to find you and Christina."

John's eyebrows shot up, "then I guess I'm even more surprised to see you. Anything a private dick could find is likely to be less than glowing about my old family."

Tears came to the old woman's eyes, "no, there was nothing glowing, but there did appear to be lots of pain. I am sorry I was never there for your mother." John shrugged, "s'alright, if you were never there for her, she learned the lesson you taught her well." He opened the screen and pitched the cigarette out the window. He closed the screen and the window part way then jumped down and walked out of the room.

Teresa looked at Sarah and quietly said, "Did I say something wrong?" Sarah shook her head, "No, that's just John, and I think Claire is here so he went to greet her at the door." Teresa let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. "Would you like to come to dinner? I would be pleased for the additional company."

Sarah understood; she needed a John Bender translation service. Sarah knew Claire was probably better for the job but this woman seemed to be growing older by the minute. She'd need to buck up if she wanted John to give her any place in his life.

John opened the door to find a very stylish looking Claire Standish about to ring the doorbell. "How do you do that?" He smirked, "I heard your car pull in sweets. No fucked up mental powers required. However, I think Teresa, my mother's mother, is going to take us all out to dinner, and I'm pretty sure she'll love you."

As soon as the door was closed she wrapped her arms around John's neck and kissed him deeply and tenderly. As the kiss ended she rubbed his nose with hers', "I feel like it's been forever since I got to last kiss you." He kissed her again. "That's to tide you over through dinner." John sat on the arm of the couch with Claire between his legs, his hands on her hips talking about their afternoons. "Ok, so I am starving, when is this dinner you keep mentioning." He laughed and kissed her forehead, stood up and took her hand leading her to the kitchen.

Teresa was thumbing through a magazine when the two of them entered; John asked, "Where's Sarah?"

"I believe she went to change so she could go to dinner. I told her what she had on was fine, but she insisted." Claire chuckled, "wouldn't you at least want to brush your hair and make sure you were presentable?" Teresa nodded, "I concede, you are correct, I too would insist upon making myself look presentable even if I already was." Claire stuck out her hand, "Hi, I'm Claire Standish girlfriend to this rude guy," She smiled and elbowed John. Teresa smiled; this stylish young girl did indeed bring something out in her grandson. Teresa stood, and took her hand; "it's a pleasure to meet you. Standish, do you have relatives in Chicago, because I seem to remember George talking about a… what was the name…Robert perhaps. Anyway, It's nice to meet you." She shook Claire's hand, both gave warm full handshakes. Teresa noted a glint on the girl's right ring finger and thought it looked vaguely familiar. "May I have a closer look at your ring? Sure, maybe you can tell me more about it." Claire grabbed John's hand and looked up at him with a smile. "John gave it to me during a particularly rough patch of life I was having. He was my savior in many ways; this was a gift from him." Claire looked a little dreamy eyed and kissed her boyfriend and put her head on his arm, which he moved to pull her into him. "Yeah, well Cherry, I'm pretty sure you've saved me too." He kissed her on top of the head.

She studied the ring for a moment then sat down just as Sarah was coming in the room. John spoke up, "How about you tell us either on the way to food or at dinner cause I'm starved. Claire where should we go? You know real restaurants better than I do. Claire gave a few options and the women decided on one, John refused to cast a vote either way. They piled into Teresa's Jag and went to a very upscale family restaurant. John was laughing about getting to see little kids in suits like little grownups. As they were seated John noticed this place was much like the restaurant Rob had taken them to the day they got out of the hospital. After looking at the menus for a few minutes, John swept a look first at Sarah and then Claire hoping his eyes expressed his lack of understanding what most of these dishes, or entrees were. Claire smiled and winked at him, "Teresa, I don't know what your palate is, but this place has some of the best manicotti around, it's got meat and ricotta cheese stuffed in and it's covered in marinara. A waiter came to the table and bowed he said, "Complimentary salad and breadsticks" he set them on the table and left them to peruse the menu for a few more minutes. John reached out and snagged a breadstick.

Teresa said, "thank you for the recommendation. Is the fish here any good?" Claire again replied," I've only had the scampi which it melts in your mouth, my father says the scallops are good." John got the manicotti; everyone else got something with fish in it. John was really hungry so he stood up and asked if anyone wanted salad and put some on all the plates. He sat back down and when he started eating very quickly with his arm around his plate Claire put her hand on his knee; it was the sign he'd asked for if he did something totally out of keeping with the situation. John sat up, took a deep breath, and made a conscious effort to not embarrass Claire and Sarah, but damn this was a lot of fucking work, and he would kill for a smoke. John stood up, "I'm going outside for a smoke." He stood up and walked away.

Once again Teresa was afraid she'd said or done something to hurt or offend him. Claire smiled kindly at her, "Mrs. Oliver," before she could continue the older woman held up her hand, "you are obviously very important to my grandson, and while I am not even sure he is going to let me be a part of his life… I would like you to call me Teres, or Teresa." Claire listened patiently and smiled again, "Ok Teres, you need to relax. John isn't easy to get to know, and he has no reason to trust you. Please be patient and if you really want to be a part of his life than you need to accept him for the man he is, no matter what. He noticed you noticing him eating and felt awkward. Until recently he'd never been to a restaurant like this, it's a little upscale for him to be comfortable."

The old woman started biting her bottom lip. "I know he has no reason to trust me, hell he has every reason to hate me if the things I have read are even half true. That said, I do want to get to know him, he is all I have left of Christina and well, I would like to be there for him in whatever capacity I can." John had, unbeknownst to her arrived back at the table and heard Teresa's comments. He sat back down in his chair grabbed another breadstick and said, "I don't hate you. I don't even know you. My mother told me you were assholes and I shouldn't bother wasting my time. I'm guessing her glasses were kind of dim considering she was pitched for getting knocked up."

Teresa sighed, "Yes, I get that I blew it with my daughter. I really don't want to do the same with you, and I don't have much time left. Would you like a little story about that ring of yours?" She directed the question to Claire, not knowing what to say to John or Sarah at the moment.

"I'd love it. I told John there was probably paperwork about it someplace." Teresa smiled, "smart girl, there is paperwork in a safety deposit box that belonged to Christina; it's yours now." She said to John.

"The ring came from my mother; it was her engagement ring. When she gave it to Christina as a sweet sixteen present, I was appalled. I thought she was too young and too wild. When George sent her to live with George, jr. and his wife I thought she'd sell it. She said she'd never speak to us again and a host of other things including she'd sell anything she was ever given by us. The ring looks good on your finger Claire. Back to the ring, I believe it was made by a jeweler in Ireland, there is something special about the emerald as well as the diamonds, but I don't remember the details now."

Teresa took a deep breath and blew it out. She looked at John and asked if his mother was ever happy. John had resumed eating during her story about the ring, which interested Claire and Sarah far more than John. When she asked her question he put his fork down and wiped his face with the napkin. He shrugged, "I don't know. She told me that once upon a time Joe Bender made her happy, but I never saw it. By the time I was nine or ten she was stoned too often for it to matter." Teresa was looking sad, but something John said sparked another question, "you call your father by his first name?"

John had taken another bite of food and looked a little irritated. He finished chewing and said, "Gratefully, according to ma that sonofabitch was _not_ my father. She said it was a guy named last name Grey who was the sperm donor. Can I finish eating now?"

"Do you want to meet him?" Teresa asked.

John put his fork down again, having nearly gotten a bite to his mouth. "who?"

"John Grey."

Again John shrugged, "I don't know, she said he went by Alex."

Teresa nodded, "He did as a child and young man, but as soon as he left his parents house for college he started using his first name. Now that I think about it, I can't believe I didn't see it earlier, you look a good deal like him."

John gave up the idea of finishing his meal and figured he'd take it home. He leaned back in his chair, "He some kind of family friend? Ma said you didn't believe her about who my dad was. Probably why she thought you were asshats; she said she kind of tramped around, but there was no question in her mind about who knocked her up."

The waiter returned, and each of them asked for to go boxes – their plates were taken and John ordered dessert, he winked at Claire letting her know he got it to share. Teresa said, "well sort of, he's our family lawyer now, it was his father, but John took over smoothly. There are some things, things which belong to you now. Would you be interested and willing to come up to Chicago at some point?"

"Lemme think about it, and well, It's gotta be after graduation."

Teresa asked, "when is that?"

Claire grinned, "Next Saturday." John groused, "You know I'm only going because I have some kind of fucking weakness for you two, and Christ why do we have to be there so early?"

Sarah smiled, "because they want you to practice prom king." John sputtered, "fuck you, I didn't even run!"

Teresa started laugh, deep belly laughs, though her voice sounded like she hadn't laughed like that in a very long time. "How did you become Prom King if you didn't run?"

Claire spoke up with a giant grin on her face. "First you must know that John only went to Prom for me. Prior to… getting together with me he wouldn't have been caught dead at a student function. The weeks prior were… difficult to say the least and John and I grew very close so he lowered himself to take me to prom. Anyway, I used to be on the prom committee and it was demanded that there be a write in option by student council. John won because everyone wrote in his name." Claire smiled at John. "He's everyone's favorite badass." John gave her a very thorough kiss as she was about to open her mouth again. When they separated Claire looked a little bedazzled, and John looked smug. Sarah and Teresa both had their eyebrows raised. "What? It's my favorite way to get her to shut up." The chocolate cake he ordered for dessert was brought to the table by a different waiter, but it looked spectacular, and tasted very good but it was really rich, what he thought was funniest was the three ladies he was with ate more of it than he did.

The waiter returned with a bag full of their leftovers, and they stood to leave. Teresa was moving much more slowly than she had at the start of the day. John squinted at her, "How about you give me the keys and let me pull your sweet Jag around to pick you ladies up?" Teresa sighed as though she was very tired and handed the keys to John without a question, which surprised the hell out of him.

John slid into the sleek leather of the car, got the mirrors all arranged, and started the car. As he pulled around he noticed that Claire was holding on to Teresa. John thought to himself, something is not all it seems here.

I know it seems late to add new characters, but there is a reason... I promise.

Please, please, pretty please leave me a review.


	40. Chapter 40

This is a fairly long chapter, but I couldn't find a good place to break it up. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the continuing saga...

General disclaimer, I don't own any of the BC characters, I just make up stories.

As it turned out, John drove back to Sarah's where Teresa asked if she could lie down for a few minutes. Sarah offered her bed, but John overruled her, "You gave up a perfectly good guest room so you could give it to me, the least I can do is allow a guest to use it when I'm not." He led her to his room, which he had picked up earlier or he wouldn't have offered. He got her settled on the bed, went out to grab her purse, and some water which he brought back in; he kicked the door shut, put the water on the night stand and handed her the purse.

Finally, he sat down on his amp and looked over her for a minute. "So what's wrong with you?"

Teresa looked sharply at him, "I'd ask what you mean, but I guess neither of us are going to play that game; mostly, old age, the rest I don't know. Doctors keep doing tests and blowing a lot of smoke up my backside. What gave me away?"

John settled himself a little, "I'm observant, and you look about a decade older than you did when you came into the shop. You up to a drive back to the city?"

"Well don't you know how to sweet talk a woman," she stated sarcastically. "Yes, when it suits me I can sweet talk women, but that's not what this is about," John replied. "Am I up to driving home?" She shrugged a little, "according to whom? My doctors and probably my son would say no, but I quit listening to bullshit shortly after George died. If I'm honest, which I think you would prefer, probably not, but I don't see a lot of options. I will not abuse your hospitality, and you and Sarah have both been more than gracious."

"You know, you could probably stay at Claire's. While they don't live in the giant mansion they used to; I know they have at least one guest room that's presently empty. Want me to ask her?" Teresa shook her head; "I'll be fine with a little rest." John looked at his alarm clock. "You do realize it's after nine, right? See, I just met you and it would really piss me off if you killed yourself on the way home. If you won't stay, then at least let me drive you home."

Teresa liked that last idea; it would give her some time alone with John. "How would you get home? Don't you have school tomorrow?"

"No, school is over for seniors, we finished these dumb ass exams today. Claire or Sarah can follow us and there ya go, I have a way home." John replied.

Teresa shook her head, "I've already intruded too much." John shook his head, "Christ, shut up. You have as big a fucking complex as my mother did. You haven't intruded; I invited you here, remember? You showed up at my work, but that doesn't mean I am going to let you simply waltz away cause you think you are causing some fictitious fucking trouble. You obviously don't feel well, so you have a choice stay or let me drive you home. I'll let you rest for a half hour and then you can give me your answer." He walked out of the room and slammed the door.

Sarah asked, "Everything ok in there?" John shrugged and lit a cigarette. "Define ok. There is apparently something wrong with her, but she started in with this bullshit about intruding too much. I hate that shit. I told her she was either staying in Shermer or I'd drive her home, but I wasn't letting her drive herself – she looked a fucking decade older than she did earlier. I understand the wonders of makeup and all, but she just looks sick. Hey Cherry, if the bird decides to stay in town can we set her up in your guest room? Sarah's couch sucks to sleep on, or better yet, can I just come home with you?" He waggled his eyebrows at her.

Claire leaned in, kissed him, and whispered, "Well Dad's out of town till tomorrow. So you _could_ set the old bird up and stay." John looked down at her, "Are you willing to let the adults know of our upgraded status? Alternatively, if I have to drive Teresa back to Chicago, will you come with?"

Claire wrapped her arms around John's waist and put her head on his chest, "I'll go anywhere with you. Chicago is fine if you need me to follow in a car or something." John could feel her smile though her face was kind of buried in his chest. He stroked her hair and wondered if all this good shit was like karmic payback for the first half of his life sucking.

Sarah checked on Teresa after 30 minutes, she seemed to be in a deep sleep – so she left her there. In another half hour she came out of John's room still looking tired. John and Claire were watching TV, and when she came out he stood up quickly and led her to a chair. "So what's the verdict Teresa?"

She sighed, "I really need to go home, I didn't bring the right medications to stay overnight. I would appreciate you driving me home John." In a quiet, sad voice she said, "maybe I ought to get that driver after all." John looked at her with the same piercing gaze she often used on others, "Come on, don't tell me you are giving up being feisty and cantankerous, that might just piss me off cause I like you and I don't think I want you to start being all old and decrepit."

She chuckled and smiled a little, "If you wish someone may follow you up, or you could simply spend the night and have someone get you in the morning, or you could use one of George's old cars and just drive yourself home. I rather hope this is the beginning of our…relationship?'

John turned to Claire, "What do you think, up for an adventure with me?"

Claire looked kind of bummed, "John I didn't bring clothes or anything with me." He chuckled, "you left a pair of jeans here last week when we were working in the garden; Sarah washed them for you. And it's not like you don't regularly steal my clothes. Come on." She smiled, stood up, and kissed him, "you drive a hard bargain mister. Let me call my dad and let him know where I'll be."

John looked at Teresa, "This cool with you? We'll drive you home and figure out getting back in the morning when you are feeling better." She smiled gratefully, "Thank you very much. I am pleased and honored that you are willing to do this much for me, and I don't mind your Claire coming along." John shrugged, "It's not like I have a lot of grandmothers showing up out of the blue, so I figure why not give you a shot. So far you seem pretty cool, and I am _so_ not gonna fucking complain about driving your sweet ride a little more. Let me go check this out with Sarah and grab some shit from my room, then we can be on our way."

He walked back to Sarah's room where she was preparing for the next day. She still had about a week of school. The underclassmen were finished on Friday, tomorrow. Graduation was Saturday, and she had several days of work the following week. "Hey Sarah, Claire and I are going to take Teresa back to the city. I figure we'll stay the night and come home tomorrow. Cool?"

She turned to John, "Of course it's cool. Thank you for letting me know, everything ok? She ok?"

John gave a half shrug, "don't know, but I figure going home with her is the best way to get the lowdown on what's really happening with her." Sarah walked over and gave John a hug, he still wasn't entirely used to hugs, but he was getting better about it, he hugged her back. "I'll be back tomorrow." They separated and he headed to his room. Claire was already in there digging through his clothes. He chuckled, "gonna pack for me too babe?"

Claire looked up, "do you want me to?"

He shook his head, "Christ only knows what you'd pack, and I just don't want to look that preppy." Claire laughed at him, "You don't own any clothes that could possibly make you look preppy. You did have say in the clothes you bought, remember?" He walked behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. She grabbed the edge of his dresser and began blushing. She whispered, "If you are gonna turn me on like this the least you could do is close the door." He laughed and walked over to shut the door, "That turned you on did it? If I thought you could be quiet I'd say we had time for a quicky before the drive, but I am pretty sure you're not capable of that." She threw a shirt at him for the comment.

Claire grabbed her clean jeans which were put away in John's dresser, walked to his closet and grabbed a blue button down shirt she didn't think he'd ever actually worn. John grabbed clean boxers, a clean shirt, and socks. They put all their things in a bag Sarah had given him. As they were about to leave the room, John pushed Claire up against the wall and kissed her intensely. "Just so you know what I am looking for tonight." He grinned at her. She smacked his chest, "get your mind out of the gutter, we'll be at your grandmother's house for pity sake." John's only response was, "so?" and he opened the door and grabbed her hand.

As they came into the living room John noticed that Teresa had fallen asleep again. He moved a little closer, "Hey Teresa" he received no response, "Teresa, come on wake up." She stirred a little but didn't really wake up; John had moved into a squat, he leaned back and thought for a moment, trying to remember what he might have called her as a very small child. "Gg… wake up for me." She opened her eyes, reached out to put her palm on his cheek, and a tear fell from her eye. "I haven't heard that since you were a toddler; I didn't think you'd ever call me that again." She tried to pull John closer and it suddenly dawned on him that she wanted a hug. He rearranged himself so he was on his knees; he leaned up and pulled the old woman into his arms. A part of him wondered why women always wanted to fucking hug, and another part of him realized just how frail this woman was. While she was holding on to him he quietly said, "If you want me to call you by something other than your name just say so." He moved away a bit, but not entirely out of her arms, "So you'd like something like gg?" She nodded ever so slightly. John smirked, "I can work with that. Now let's get you up and back home. Do you want to sit shotgun or would you like me to set up some bedding in the backseat?"

Teresa woke up at the question. "I am not an invalid, nor am I a child. I will be just fine in the seat next to you! My apologies Claire, I assume you do not mind riding in the backseat. Claire smiled and shook her head, "You can set up bedding for me, and I'll crash till we reach Chicago, I am like so not above that." John laughed, "then grab pillows and shit from off my bed." John helped Teresa out to the car and just as he got her settled Claire returned with an armload of pillows and a blanket. "I still need to get our bag, which I added a few things to, and my purse." John rolled his eyes. "pick up the pace, toots." Teresa said, "if you grab the bag of your things it might just speed her up." John looked down at her sitting in the car, "Now you're just trying to get me to work. You all good?" She nodded, he closed the door, and walked back to the house to find Claire talking to Sarah. "What part of pick up the pace escaped you Cherry?" He grabbed the bag with their things in it. "See you tomorrow Sarah." He turned and opened the door again, "Sweets, when I get to the car I am leaving with our without you." Claire rolled her eyes at Sarah but said, "Yes dear," and followed him out to the car.

Claire was sleeping before they hit the highway which caused much joking between Teresa and John. She told him a little about his mother, including some of the mistakes they made. She asked him to tell her about himself. "Ok, I'll be honest, I hate that fucking question. I mean, how exactly am I supposed to answer it? Do you want to know shit like my favorite color or the music I like or are you trying to get at something deep and meaningful. Give me specific questions and I'll do my best to answer them, alright?"

"That's acceptable, and perhaps the most honest response I've ever heard to the question. How about we do a twenty questions sort of thing, I really would like to know you… and I am not very good at this." Teresa remarked.

John chuckled, "I'm pretty sure no one is any good at it gg." Out of the corner of his eye he saw her beam at the simple nickname. "You starting this or am I? We still have probably 40 minutes before you have to give me more specific directions." The two of them asked questions ranging from favorite music, she liked big band, which he bashfully admitted liking after learning to dance to it; to broken bones, John's list brought tears to her eyes, though she tried to wipe them away before he could see; to books and anything or everything else the two could think. It was a good way to pass the drive; Claire was actually awake for a good portion, but simply listened quietly.

Teresa started giving specific directions when they reached the north side of Chicago: she lived in Lake Forest, which as far as John could tell was practically in Wisconsin. The suburb made Claire's old area of Shermer look like housing projects. "My mother seriously grew up here?" John asked incredulously. Teresa chuckled, "yes, she did. She ran around on these very streets. I suppose when this is where you come from the life she chose was her primary way of rebelling." John shook his head, "I think her life got away from her gg, I don't think anybody chooses the life she..she ended." When they arrived the pulled into what looked like an estate with a gated front entrance and a circular drive. John whistled, "Damn, that's all I can say." Claire piped up from the back seat, "This is a beautiful home Teresa."

As they entered, what could only be called a mansion, John looked at Teresa. "This place looks a little big for just you, or at least damn hard to keep up." She chuckled tiredly, "You say that like I don't have servants, you know, a housekeeper cleans, the chef cooks, etc… She walked over and pressed play on the answering machine. "Who on earth called here, I have 14 messages." The first message was from none other than John Grey letting her know he'd be stopping by sometime the next day to discuss what to do with Christina's stocks. The second and all the subsequent messages were from George, Jr. Each message grew more worried till the last one. "It's nearly midnight and if I don't hear back from you in the next 45 minutes I am going to file a missing persons report. Mom, I hope you are ok, you haven't answered the phone all night and it's not like you to stay out so late. Please be ok, please call me back."

Teresa sighed and muttered, "Jesus Christ George, it's not like I'm dead, what if I had a date. Damn worry wart is going to be the death of me." John snorted trying to hold back a laugh. She looked back at him, "was that my outside voice?" With a smirk that was very reminiscent of John's she said, "I rather suspect the two of you will be sharing a room. All the rooms to the left of the stairs are guestrooms. Feel free to choose which you like. I must call my son back in the next half hour or he may give himself a damned heart attack. She leaned against the table and scrutinized John for a moment, "do you know why your sister stopped speaking to her brother? He's never been willing to give me any kind of answer."

John leaned against the door, as they hadn't yet left the foyer; Claire sat down on the stairs. "Mind if I go pick out a room, much as I would like to hear the story I suspect you can tell me later." John walked over and kissed Claire, "go for it sweetheart, I'll follow you up in a minute." She nodded and headed up the stairs. "Why don't you make that call to my uncle so he doesn't put out an APB on you; want something to drink?" She grinned, "Absolutely, can you make a whiskey sour?" John shook his head, "I can put some whiskey on the rocks for us both; unless you have a beer stashed someplace."

"God you make me feel young again." She chuckled, and said, "In the fridge you will find beer, George liked them, and occasionally so do I. So grab yourself a beer, pour some of the sour mix you'll find in there into a small glass and pour whiskey over it with two ice cubes, and make something for your lady as well. I will make the dreaded phone call and you can do some story telling? Now shoo before you disagree with some part of my devious plan." John laughed and walked the direction he hoped the kitchen was in.

He found the kitchen with little trouble, though the light was a bit more difficult to find, but he managed. He made Teresa the drink as specified and tasted it; he wrinkled his nose at the taste and wondered why women ruined perfectly good whiskey, but figured Claire might like it as well if he added a bit of sugar to it. He knew she preferred sweet drinks. He grabbed himself a beer and closed the fridge, as he started to make Claire's drink he overheard gg talking. "I was out visiting George... It's none of your damn business why! For Christ sake I am an adult and I don't have to check my travel itinerary with you. I didn't even arrive at my destination until after six. God damn it, I went to Shermer, and it's none of your damn business why I went down there. Why didn't I visit you? I had other things to do." There was a pause. "You are an obnoxious, and generally obtuse man, I am fine, and I am getting off the damn phone. I returned your 13 messages now please give me a little peace. You didn't call me except on holidays for years, what is with you calling me every other day?" Another pause, "Jesus h. Christ George, I am a grown woman who is in complete control of my faculties leave me the hell alone for a few days." John heard the phone slam down after another minute or so, just about the time he was finishing up the drinks.

He walked back out to the entryway, and asked "where do you want to sit since there are no chairs here in your entryway." She smirked at him as Claire was coming down the stairs. Teresa's response to John was to call him a smart ass; she took her drink, tasted it, and closed her eyes apparently savoring it. "Oh thank you dear, you got the ratio just right. Why don't you two follow me." Claire reached the bottom of the steps and said, "you never came up, so I figured I'd best come down." John responded, "always knew you were smart. We haven't even started talking." He handed her a drink, "tell me what you think." Claire tasted it and her eyes brightened, "this is fantastic, what is it?"

"It's a whiskey sour with a spoonful of sugar. The whisky sour is what gg wanted, and I am thanking god, she has beer!" He grabbed her hand and followed his grandmother into a living room. "George always called this a den; it's my favorite room in the house because it just feels warmer than the rest somehow. Did you find a room you liked Claire?"

Claire smiled, "Yes ma'am, I had a hard time choosing between the blue room or the green one. All the rooms are so beautiful, but I was trying to balance what I like with what I thought John would like. I ended up picking the green room; it just has a laid back feel to it, and an attached bathroom." Teresa nodded, "good choice, it's a very comfortable bed. And why don't you just call me gg, it feels nice to have children I like calling me that."

John tilted his head, "Children you like?"

She chuckled and took a sip of her drink, "Did you ever meet George's children? George the third, mind you I find it obnoxious to put numbers after children's names, anyway and Tiffany. I have never met more spoiled brats in my life. They are entitled and irritating."

Claire leaned forward, "Tiffany Oliver is your granddaughter?" Teresa nodded, took a sip of her drink, "why?" Claire smiled and looked at John. "Remember my old crowd? Tiff, the girl with curly blond hair and an over sized ego?" John thought about it for a few seconds, "do you mean the blond bitch who fucked Joe over?" Claire nodded, "Apparently she is your cousin."

John downed about half the bottle of beer, "fuck, I can't stand that chick. Guess no one says you have to like your relatives." Teresa chimed in, "That is a very true statement. However, yes Tiffany Oliver is one of the brats I find to be spoiled, entitled, and generally distasteful to be around. Were you planning on answering my question John?"

He looked up from his beer bottle, "If I ever met Uncle George's kids I don't remember it. As for the other, well first my fa… Joe was never welcomed, or I think allowed in the house. That really pissed Ma off. The last memory I have of them is Ma and Uncle George screaming at one another, the only thing I remember clearly is Ma calling him what you just said about his kids, she said he was a spoiled, self entitled brat who would forever suck his old man's dick for approval and money." John down the rest of the beer, "Can I have another one of these?" Teresa nodded and John left the room.

Teresa took a sip of her drink, "Am I reading into something or did he sound bitter?"

Claire took a sip of her own drink, "Anything having to do with his childhood sort of makes him sound that way. I don't know if he feels bitter exactly, but he would rather forget it happened than rehash it. I think he might be willing to tell you about some of it eventually. Even I don't know many details except to say it was horrible for him. I learned a lot this spring because of what we went through."

Teresa leaned forward, "What happened this spring?"

John walked into hear that question, he took a swig of the beer, "it's a long story, and if you want more than the reader's digest version it'll have to wait till morning, or we'll be here till sunrise. I can tell you I met Sarah and Claire." He sat back down, "so is there anyone in our little family you like?"

She looked a little sad, "I liked Christina the last time I saw her. I saw her several times after George, my George that is, threw her out. We'd meet at a little café in Shermer. I think I may have even met Joe, but only once. She would rarely accept money from me, and I believe that upset him. I like my brother, he lives in New York. Perhaps you'll have the opportunity to meet him some day." She turned and looked squarely at John, "I like you." She finished her drink, and stood up. "You two have the freedom of the house, there is no place off limits to you sweetheart. Could I perhaps have a hug?" She asked John. He stood up and wrapped his arms around her small frame; he kissed the top of her head, "Sleep well gg and thank you for everything." She began walking out of the room, but half turned, "it should be me thanking you, it has been a delightful evening, and I believe I will sleep quite well with the two of you here." With that, she headed up to bed.

Claire moved from the chair she was sitting in to the couch next to John, and put her head on his chest and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Penny for your thoughts?"

John looked down at the beautiful redhead in his arms, "I suppose I am kind of reeling. This morning we went to school, I'd expected to put that new exhaust I just bought on the mustang, take you out to supper, if I was really lucky get lucky" Claire playfully smacked his chest, he grabbed her hand and bit her finger, "and instead I'm sitting in a fucking palace. Is this place bigger than your old place was?" Claire thought about it for a second and said, "yeah, I think so, and I haven't seen the whole thing so it's possible that it's much bigger."

"Ok, so I am sitting here in a fucking palace because my grandmother, yea, my fucking grandmother needed a ride home. I am not sure if my mother would be at peace with this or rolling in her grave. Gg seems really pretty cool though, and ma never said anything really bad about her mother directly. I don't know if this is a smoking house, but if you'd open a window we can smoke this joint I rolled before we left."

Claire stood up, and wiggled her fingers at him, "Let's go up to the bedroom, we can smoke it there."

John grabbed her hand, stood, and said, "You trying to have your wicked way with me Red?"

Claire smiled, "maybe, you did bring me to a, what did you say, a fucking palace wasn't it." They walked up to the room Claire had chosen for them earlier. He noticed that Claire had laid out their clothes, remembered little things like tooth and hair brushes, he kissed her. "There's a tv, and a bathroom, I couldn't pass it up." Claire opened the window; John turned on the tv and lit his joint. Claire smoked a little via john then went to get ready for bed. She came back in one of his t-shirts and little else. John finished the joint, smoked a cigarette while sitting on the window sill of the house which looked out to an expansive back yard, finally he closed the window most of the way since it was a cool spring evening. He got himself ready for bed and climbed in next to Claire.

"Can I ask you kind of a weird question princess?" She snuggled up to him, putting her head on his shoulder, "sure," was her response.

"Why me? Don't get me wrong, I certainly enjoy the benefits of you in my life, but hell in the first week after we met I got you severely beaten, the day we met I tormented you, and I am certainly not a fucking picnic to be around all the time, and yet you gave me well you gave me yourself. I spent almost 18 years with shit for luck, and little to nothing good in my life, and I am starting to sound like a chick, so I don't know… can you answer my question?"

Claire kissed him very gently, "the day we met sure you tormented me, but you also called me on my shit, and forced me to be honest. You didn't get me beaten up; the Strickler's are psychos who look for ways to hurt people. I can't speak to the rest of your life, but you are super good looking, you always make me face facts, and you go out of your way to protect those you love, even if you try really hard not to let anyone know that.

She sat up and sat cross legged next to him, drawing on his chest with her nail, "I don't know what to tell you besides, why not you. I can't think of another person I have ever been with you know like dating wise who makes me feel the way you do. You make me feel alive, and you make me feel like I want to be better, and you endlessly turn me on."

"Endlessly?" He asked with a smirk. Claire blushed, but nodded. In a move she wasn't expecting he flipped her onto her back and he settled between her legs. "I have to admit, I like knowing that." He proceeded to kiss her until she was senseless enough not to notice him slowly removing both their clothing. His hand moved down between them and he caressed her stomach, inner thighs, and finally the apex of them, though he didn't immediately go where she wanted. His caressing caused Claire to whimper and squirm. As he moved ever so slowly towards the nub she was desperate for him to touch he started whispering, "No one has ever given me as much as you," he kissed her chest. "No one has ever trusted me the way you do," he kissed her left breast. "No one has ever believed in me like you have," he kissed her right breast. He suckled both her nipples and then kissed her stomach, leaving his hand between her legs. He came up to kiss her mouth again as he reached that nub and began caressing it with just enough pressure to make her moan. He rubbed it a little harder and he pulled away to watch her fall apart under his hands. As she was coming down, he settled himself against her core, just barely entering her. John kissed her gently and moved up onto his forearms to look in her eyes, "until I met you I didn't believe love even existed," as he said those words he entered her completely and he kissed her as she screamed in pleasure and fell apart again.

At first, Claire was a little hesitant to fool around at his grandmother's home, but once he started working her up she had no will power or desire to stop him. And each time he spoke her heart clenched a little and she fell a little more in love. When he entered her in one swift move she thought the sky had fallen because she saw stars; she knew she screamed and that John swallowed it with his kiss. She had discovered he had amazing will power and could go for hours, but apparently that was not going to be the case tonight – after she screamed the first time; he found a pace and began thrusting in to hit her g-spot every time. He quickly began moving faster and harder until within minutes she was flying into a million pieces again; as she was coming he started to fiercely kiss her and screamed her name into the kiss.

After a few minutes he rolled them both over to the side, slipping himself back inside of her from their spooned position. She thought she should maybe stop him, or one of them should go get a wet rag to clean up, but they both fell asleep within minutes.

Claire woke up to the sun shining on her face and John hard within her, it felt amazing to her. She couldn't tell if he was awake or not, but she wasn't sure whether or not she wanted to move – she decided to try an experiment. She clenched her inner muscles and moved her hips slightly back and forth. After a few minute she could feel him grow even more so each of her movements back hit her g-spot. She tried to bite back a moan and suddenly John arm wrapped around her middle and he kissed the back of her neck. "Good morning to you too princess," he growled into her ear and he began to match her movements to some excellent morning orgasms. He reluctantly pulled out of her, but nipped her shoulder. "What say you to conserving water and sharing a shower?" They went into the bathroom to shower and ended up having spectacular sex one more time. As they were getting dressed Claire was all but glowing with satiation and John was smirking with the same. He finished getting ready first. "Meet you downstairs? I find that I have worked up an appetite." She blushed and told him she'd be down in a few minutes.

John leisurely took the stairs down and walked into the kitchen area to find his grandmother sitting with someone, and a cook, he guessed, at the stove. Teresa smiled at him and seemed to expect some kind of physical greeting, so he leaned down and kissed her cheek. She beamed just a bit and said, "I was wondering when you were going to join us. Will Claire be down or is she still asleep?" John was suddenly very grateful she apparently hadn't heard their morning activities. "She'll be down in a few minutes; she's being a girl about getting dressed this morning."

The man behind the counter turned to him, "Can I get you something for breakfast, Sir?"

He looked at Teresa, "what are my options gg?" She smiled, "pretty much anything you would like I suppose. Jack, what do we have for breakfast?"

Jack, apparently the cook's name, said "I can make pretty much any breakfast food you'd like."

John's response was, "well fuck. Just a cup of coffee then; I'll put in a damned order when Claire shows up."

Teresa tilted her head, "What is your problem with just asking for a breakfast you want?"

John shrugged, "Why make the guy do double work if we can figure out something we both want, and that way we can probably eat together." He turned to Jack who was washing dishes. "I'll bet you can make a latte," John commented; Jack nodded. "Cool, a cup of hot black coffee for me and a latte."

The person sitting opposite his grandmother was a middle aged man. He had slightly hawk like features, short black hair which was beginning to grey at his temples. He briefly looked at John after his commentary, then back at Teresa. "Who is your guest?"

Teresa put her hand on her chest, "forgive me for being rude." She finished her coffee. "John this is John Bender, Christina's boy." She turned to her grandson, "John this is John Grey our family lawyer and an old family friend. I believe you've heard of him." She stood up, put her coffee cup on the counter, and said "I'll be right back, I am simply off to my room for a few papers, promise I'll be back." With that she walked out of the kitchen. John took a drink of his coffee and muttered quietly, "Interfering old biddy."

"I wholehearted agree with that statement, though I'm curious to know how you know this. And well, I'd love to hear about Christina." He turned to look directly at John and felt a like the world tilted on its axis a bit; looking at John Bender felt like looking in a mirror that somehow had Christina's face laid over his. He set his coffee cup down before he broke it, and stood to move closer to John. "She said your last name is Bender?"

John felt the same tilt, if he ever thought he looked like Joe Bender the man in front of him proved that wrong. He nodded at the question and wasn't quite sure if he should tell this man the truth, after a second or two he decided why the fuck not, he'd been brutally honest his whole life, even when it got the shit kicked out of him why should now be any different. "Yeah, my mother gave me her husband's last name, told me he adopted me." That was enough for now. How would this guy take that much information. He walked over and stuck out his hand to shake John's, "may I ask how old you are?"

"I'm 17, my birthday's not till February. Why do you ask?" John took another drink of his coffee and John Grey sat down. He grabbed his coffee cup and handed it to Jack, "another cup, please Jack. I don't know if your mother mentioned me; we were dating, pretty seriously I thought, but then she was whisked away I was told she never wanted to see me again, and I became persona non grata with her parents for years."

Bender put his coffee cup down, "who told you that, her old man?" Grey took the coffee Jack handed him, and he nodded. Just then Claire came into the room; John handed her the latte he'd added two spoons of sugar to. "I think that's what you like right?" She took a sip, closed her eyes to savor it. "Perfect." She kissed him on the cheek and sat down in Teresa's vacated seat. "Where's gg?" John shrugged "she disappeared to find some mysterious paperwork."

Claire look at John and then to Mr. Grey and back at John. "Claire Standish, John Grey – John Grey, Claire Standish. He swiveled on the seat, "Hey Jack, can I get another cup of coffee, too?" The cook nodded and took John cup to refill it. John then turned back to Claire. "What do you want for breakfast? Apparently the menu is whatever we want." Looking at Grey he said, "no, my ma never mentioned dating you, but then she never mentioned having any family aside from my uncle, and after I was about 7 we didn't see him either."

Claire got up and walked over to Jack. "So are you going to tell me what we're doing for breakfast, Cherry? I didn't figure I'd put the dude to any additional work." She chuckled at John's lack of etiquette around servants. "Nope, it will be a surprise. Continue with what you were doing before I came in; the chef and I are going to conspire."

He got down off the counter stool, "I'm going out back for a smoke." He found his way to the back door, and discovered a patio and a sunken pool. He sat in one of the chairs, put his coffee on the table, and lit a cigarette. "Mind if I bum one of your smokes," said John Grey who was now standing next to him. John pulled out the pack and shook one out to him. Grey sat in the chair across from John, and he put his forearms on his knees. He kept looking at John then looking back down. "Dude, whatever you want to say or ask just go for it. My life ain't gonna get any fucking stranger."

He straightened up and rolled his shoulders, "uh, can you tell me anything about your mother; Teresa told me she passed away, but no more than that." John took a long drag off his cigarette, blew out the smoke. "Look, I think you are going to have to be more specific than that, because my life is a can of worms I just don't know if you want to open." Grey sighed, "While I'm not sure what you mean by a can of worms, I can assure you I do want to know. I was going to propose to her and she just disappeared on me."

"Huh, you ever tell her old man that?"

"First, since we have the same name, why don't you call me Alex, it's what Christina used to call me. No I never told Mr. Oliver I was going to propose. I... I'm really not above begging, I… I still haven't forgotten her and to know she moved on… I just, fuck. You are her son, you probably don't need this."

John chuckled, "No, actually Alex, I am getting some kind of primal satisfaction out of watching you squirm. However, if you really want to know about my ma, our life and shit we are going to need something stronger than coffee." Alex put out his cigarette, "I can arrange that. Do you know where George Oliver's office was?" John shook his head, "Nope. We got in at like midnight and I saw the kitchen, a den and a bedroom. Alex smiled mirthlessly, "It's the first door on the other side of the entryway, or just follow me." John followed Alex through a different door then they had come out, around a couple of curves, and into a dimly lit room that smelled like cigars. There were two leather chairs, an ashtray and what looked like a small bar next to a bunch of book cases. "Any suggestions on what to drink," Alex asked. "I think we should go straight to the whiskey, why don't you pull out a couple of glasses, and I'll pour."

Alex shook his head, but grabbed two short glasses and a bottle of Jack Daniels. "I should so not be drinking with someone underage, or before noon." John barked out a laugh and poured each of them two fingers. "I've been drinking for a good long while now, and I think morning or not, if you had a think for my mother you are gonna want the whiskey. This will be easier if you ask some questions, I promise to give you straight up honest answers, if I have them." He sat down in the leather chair opposite Alex and lit another cigarette. He put the pack between the two of them. Alex said thanks and thought for a moment, "Ok, why didn't she want to see me anymore."

John took a hit off his cigarette, "That one's easy; the old man told you a straight up fucking lie. She was wrapped up and sent off like last week's trash. I also suspect she was given shit about trying to reach you." John took a sip of his whiskey. Alex's next question was the one John was not sure about answering, but figured it would come up sooner or later. John thought the poor guy looked tortured, "but why?"

John poured the rest of his drink down his throat, "She was pregnant." Alex's face drained of color, "what?" John opened up the whiskey and poured another drink for each of them. "Was it that you didn't hear or you didn't understand?" Alex shook his head, "She was pregnant? Did she… um… when, when did she meet your dad? It was John's turn to shake his head, "my mother informed me in the note she wrote before killing that son of a bitch Joe Bender, then herself, that he wasn't my father. I thought it was particularly appropriate timing, wouldn't you say?" He polished off half of his second glass, while Alex drained his. "Why would she, was he, I… why?"

John put his forearms on his thighs, mimicking the pose Alex had been in earlier. "Let's see if I can figure out your stuttering - she met Joe Bender after she'd been sent off to Shermer. Apparently he was initially good to her and told her he'd adopt me. Turns out he sucked at keeping his word. He was a rotten, abusive, all around bastard right up to the day he died. Why? I suppose the murder/suicide thing was her fucked up way of trying to protect me." John took a swig right from the bottle. "Other questions?" He handed Alex the bottle and lit another cigarette. Alex took a cigarette and lit it as well, took a swig out of the bottle, and took a deep breath. "Do you know who your father is? Did she tell you?"

John took a hit off his cigarette, left it in his mouth, and nodded. He pulled out his wallet, it was where he kept the letter his mother wrote him, and handed Alex the letter. John capped the whiskey bottle, and took a drink of his coffee. Claire would kick his ass if he got drunk, but he sat back to watch Alex read his mother's letter.

Please please please tell me what you think by hitting that review button.


	41. Chapter 41

Here is the next to the last chapter, it's been a long road and I want to thank you for sticking with me through it all, I really hope you've enjoyed it.

I don't own any of the original BC characters, and I make no money of this, it's all for my own edification, and your enjoyment...

John Alex Grey sat in George Oliver's old office, one of the few rooms Teresa Oliver hadn't cleaned out yet. He spent high school in love with George and Teresa's only daughter Christina. His father had been the lawyer for the Oliver's and when he took the law firm over, before his father passed, they happily kept him as their attorney, even though a decade before he had been locked out of their home and lives. Just after graduation Christina had disappeared and he was told, in no uncertain terms, to forget she existed. He'd never been able to, and now, here he sat with a young man who could probably drink him under the table. He had Christina's eyes, but otherwise it was almost like looking in a mirror. Was it possible this boy was his son? Would their parents, his and Christina's, really have fucked their lives up for them? He looked at the square of paper; it had been folded and refolded countless times. Alex glanced over to John, and thought to himself, did she name him for me?

He poured himself a little more whiskey, and took a deep breath. Upon opening the noted he saw handwriting that looked only vaguely like the writing he remembered. This appeared penned with a nervous, scratchy, and shaky hand. He tried to wipe the tear from his eye without John seeing it and began to read:

_Johnny, _

_Sorry, I know you hate that nickname, but you'll always remain my little boy. I know you won't understand why I left you alone. You and I both know I was a shitty mother, you deserved better. No matter what the asshole I married ever said to you – know you can do anything. Before I left I made sure there were people around who cared about you. Don't push them away._

_Like I said, I kind of sucked at being your mom. You need to know, Joe Bender is not your biological dad. It's a real like long story, but uh, you deserve highlights or something I guess. I used to be one of those Richies your, no, Joe hated so much… at Prom I well, got you. John Alex Grey, that's the name of your dad. _

Alex drank the glass of whiskey he'd poured for himself, and looked at John again. His…his son was sitting in a deceptively relaxed pose drinking coffee. He looked back down at the letter, eager to know more, though what he read brought tears right back to his eyes. His girl had never been a whore, or a tramp, or anything but his…

_I'll be honest, you know I am kind of a whore; and well I just don't know if he'll even remember me. My parents, who are assholes by the way, but I think you knew that, well they shipped me to an aunt sally and uncle George. I think they are assholes too, but I thought you deserved some kind of family. Joe used to be charming, and he was nice to me, and he told me he'd adopt you. I thought I was showing my parent's up. I thought, I thought I found a guy who would make me better than them, cause it wasn't about the money. _

_Anyway, you don't want to know this stuff, but you gotta know I am sorry. Johnny, you will always be my prince, you took Joe's abuse when I couldn't, and well you grew up so you could take care of me. You are a good boy, I mean, Man. Don't ever forget it. Don't push away the girl who loves you, I think she can teach you who you really are… go to college, have a good life, you can do anything. Cremate our bodys, I don't want you to remember us except as someone you are better than. _

_I'll always be able to watch over you from the other side, maybe I'll get to be a good mom in the end. _

Alex carefully folded the letter back up; he couldn't stop the tears from flowing down his face. He did try to wipe them away. He stood up and pulled himself together, sat back down, then stood up again. John watched him carefully through the whole reading process, afraid to wonder what this guy was going to say to him.

Alex Grey took a deep breath and faced his son; relatively certain he wouldn't break down again, though the hand returning John's letter was really pretty shaky. "First, I never stopped loving your mother so of course I remember her, second I would never believe she was a whore, and I don't need a damn paternity test to believe you are my son. I… I guess I don't know where to go from here."

John stood up, walked over to Alex Grey, and said something very unexpected, "Thank you." He stuck out his hand for the older man to shake. Alex grabbed his hand and pulled him into a hug. John stiffened, but let the man hug him. Alex stepped back, "I'm sorry if I stepped over a line, I" John put his hand up to interrupt him. "I haven't been hugged by a guy since I was a little kid; it's not that I have a problem with you."

John watched as his… father… let out a deep breath apparently of relief. Then he asked a question John found he really didn't want to answer. "Did she…did she at least have a good life." John took a deep breath and blew it out, he sat back down, "I don't know if you really want me to answer that." Alex kind of threw himself into the chair he'd been sitting in, "That in itself is an answer of a sort. Would you be willing to tell me, I don't know, how bad it was?"

John took a double take at the man, and did the only thing he knew when he felt cornered, "How fucking bad it was? Well I can give you a fucking preview," He shrugged out of his button down shirt and stripped the t-shirt of bearing his skin, for the first time, to someone he didn't fully trust. He pointed at the cigar burn, "This one I got for spilling paint in the garage." He spun so Alex could see the marks crisscrossing his upper torso. "These I don't even remember why I got, some for no reason besides Joe was in a bad fucking mood and I got in the way. I made myself his fucking target cause after I was about 9 I couldn't stand watching him beat the shit out of my ma any more. By the time I was 14, she was too stoned to care about me anymore either and treated me as fucking bad as he did., though she never did hit as fucking hard." John put his clothes back on, walked out of the room, and slammed the door. He found himself in a small hallway just off the main entry room. He found the door they'd come in from the outside and went out to smoke another cigarette.

Claire had spoken with Jack about the kind of breakfast she wanted and meshed in the kind of food she knew John liked. The chef was keeping the food warm and Claire was starting to get worried. Teresa came back to the kitchen with a bunch of paper work in her hands. "I finally think I have it all." She looked around for a moment, "where did the boys go?" Claire spread her hands in a universal signal of not knowing, "John said he was going out back for a cigarette, Mr. Grey followed him, and they've not returned since just after I came down – which was apparently just after you left." Teresa sat down, "I wasn't expecting things to progress this quickly." Both women jumped as they heard a door slam, and Claire went looking out the back window; she saw John doing the caged tiger impression he did when he was really upset about something. Without a word to Teresa she went out the door to the back patio, "John, sweetheart, is everything ok?"

He turned to look at her, his eyes a little wild, "Yeah I guess if you call a fucking chat with the guy who tells me he never stopped loving my ma, tries to fucking hug me, then fucking asks how bad shit was. I suppose I'm just fucking dandy." Claire walked over to him, though didn't interrupt his pacing. "I'm here John, if you need anything; I just want you to know that." John put his cigarette out in a plant, walked over to Claire and wrapped his arms around her. "I want to go home Cherry. Though I suspect you have some kind of elaborate breakfast made for the two of us."

Claire kissed John's chest and laid her head on it, "Not elaborate, it's waffles and bacon, which is being kept warm in the kitchen, we also need to talk to gg about how we're getting home. If it's any consolation she returned just a few minutes ago with an arm load of papers." He hugged her close, laid his forehead on her shoulder and breathed her in, in a way he hadn't since they'd spent the week in and out of the hospital. She held him close as he would let her. After breathing Claire in for a minute or so John felt like his head wasn't going to explode and he could talk to his grandmother without screaming at her for putting him in this position. With Claire in his arms he could ground himself and think logically. He knew last night that Alex had called and was coming by. He was the one who insisted upon taking her home. "Thanks for coming out here to me Princess. I didn't even know I needed you, but you helped me think a little straighter. Let's get some food and figure out how we're getting home. We're meeting the gang tonight right? Little before graduation party?" Claire nodded, "yep. Did we ever decide if we were going meet up at my place or yours?" John laughed, he could still laugh when thinking about normal life, "Didn't we decide it would be whoever we could get rid of?" He threw his arm up on her shoulders and the two of them walked back inside. Claire whispered, "Have you been drinking?" John nodded and said nothing more.

John said, "can I get a fresh cup of coffee? I left my cup in the other room." He sat down on the stool he'd started the morning on, and turned to look at Teresa. "Gg I have to say you have some really interesting timing. Was your extended disappearance planned or is my luck just that fucked?" Claire put her hand on John's knee as a way of saying she was there for him, she hoped he read it in her eyes. "I read you, Cherry and I promise I'm not gonna get upset; been there done that this morning. Can you get me a plate of food, I'll even accept fruit or whatever other fucked up thing you want me to eat to be healthy." He kissed her head, but looked over her at his grandmother. "Sure thing babe, and I don't like give you things just to get you to eat healthier, I just want you to try new things," Claire muttered as she walked towards the cook who was getting plates down for the two of them.

Teresa was trying to figure out how all the paperwork fit together, she knew her husband had some kind of order for things, but she didn't think she'd messed it up this terribly when she started reading it after hearing about Christina's death. She looked at John, "I assure you I didn't plan to leave you here alone for as long as I did, and if I caused you grief please forgive me." Jack put a fresh cup of coffee by John, "nothing to forgive gg, I just hadn't planned on… fuck…meeting him today, like this. I think I left him upset in your husband's office. We have to be getting back home, or at least leaving before too long. I think between us we should have an extra ticket to graduation if you feel like showing up." Claire put a plate down next to John and took hers to the table. John turned to fully face the counter, put his arm around his plate and proceeded to eat without another word.

Back in Shermer, Rob sat in his lawyer's office going over the divorce papers. "I suppose I should be glad my folks corralled Karen into signing that damn pre-nup and that you had a copy. I hear she was asking for triple digit alimony." His lawyer nodded, "she also wanted the flat in New York, and the villa in France, though she seemed happy to sell the house in Shermer. Her lawyer was not at all pleased when I sent him the latest bill for what she'd broken or taken from the house when you weren't there." The two continued talking for a half hour or so, Robert signed the paper work, stood up, and shook hands with the man who was going to free him forever from the harpy he'd married. "Are you sure Claire won't accept the requested visitation rights? She only has to do it for a little while, then she'll be 18." Robert shook his head, "Claire was very clear in what she said and what she wrote, she really never wants Karen to be within 500 feet of her ever again. Someday she may change her mind, but I don't see that happening before the scars on her arm are either surgically removed or fade." The lawyer nodded his head. "That's all then, I will have these delivered this afternoon. I cannot promise she'll sign the papers you know." Robert nodded, "I know, but a man can hope can't he?" With that the two men left on friendly terms. Robert went to work for the day and at 4 when he could expect Sarah to be home he gave her a call.

She was just walking in the house as the phone rang; she dropped all her stuff and dove for it, "hello?" she asked somewhat out of breath. "Hey stranger, it's Rob, did I catch you at a bad time?"

"No, I was just walking in, running a little late –last day of school and all. What's up?" Sarah rolled over so she was lying on the end of the couch, her back on the seat and her legs from the knees down hanging over the edge. Robert smiled at the sound of her voice, "I was wondering if you'd like to get some dinner with me. I think the kids are planning a party at which ever house they can be reasonably sure there won't be an adult at. I figure we should just confuse them by both going out." Sarah laughed at his reasoning.

"I just walked in and I don't know if they've even returned from Chicago yet, but I do have to give you an update on what all has happened, that I know of anyway. I have to tell you about Teresa." Sarah said kicking her feet a little. Robert smiled, "Ok, so should I just pick you up? Oh, yes, Claire mentioned something about a Teresa, a long lost relative of John's turning up out of the wood work."

"Oh there is so much more to it than that, let's see, Teresa Oliver has wealth coming out of her pours, and she is his maternal grandmother. Apparently the grandfather was a bit controlling, and I think I'm understating it. Since he died she's been looking for her daughter and grandson." Sarah started, "The story is longer than that, but yes, pick me up say around six?"

"Oliver? I know, or knew, a Teresa and George Oliver they were friends of my parents. Yes, George was a very old fashioned man, I am surprised he let Teresa drive. That is who John Bender is related to?" he whistled, "just so you know the Standish's are practically paupers by comparison to the Oliver's." Sarah sat up on the arm of the couch, "Robert you know I don't give a shit about money, why else would I be a teacher. Anyway, we can continue this in person. Can I remain dressed for school? Should I put on a pair of jeans or are you thinking of going someplace swanky?"

He choked a little, "swanky? I am not even sure what that word means. I am sure what you have on is fine, unless you'd be more comfortable in denim, then I can be flexible." Sarah responded, "shut up, I'll have coffee on when you get here, and I'll see you in a bit. Now don't work too hard." The two hung up, Sarah picked up the things she'd dropped on her way into the house, sorted the mail, and went to make a pot of coffee. She did notice the kids hadn't returned, but decided there was no reason to worry.

Teresa looked at Claire as if to ask what was wrong, Claire shook her head trying to explain it wasn't her story to tell. "I need to grab a folder for this mess. I'll be back, this time I will try to be much speedier." She put her hand on John's back as she left; he failed to suppress his tension at her touch, but continued to eat the really good food in front of him.

Teresa felt the tension, which made her sad, but she realized he'd been had a lot thrown at him in the last 24 hours. She walked across the foyer to the office of her husband; she didn't like going in there because the room was so…George. She opened the door and saw a wild eyed Alex Grey staring at nothing. She took a deep breath and entered the room. "John, is everything ok in here?"

"I really don't want to speak to you right now Teresa. I think I am going to stay in this bastard's office and drink all the fucking booze I can find. How the fuck could you do that to Christina? To me? She was right you are assholes," he finished the drink in his hand and stood up. He appeared completely sober, if pissed off. "If George were here I might just beat the shit out of him." He looked at Teresa, "Because of his goddamned selfish bullshit my son…" he shook his head a little and wiped the tears from his eyes, "my son grew up being beaten, abused, and torn down. My beloved Christina killed herself to save him. He..her fucking father made her believe I wouldn't want her or the child, wouldn't want to care for her for the rest of my life! I still fucking love her… how could you not have seen that?" He was screaming at Teresa, who was now also crying. "I was never even given a fucking chance. I think I fucking hate you right now!" His yelling alerted John and Claire. John kissed her forehead. "Wait here, I'll be right back." John slid off the stool and walked towards the open door of the office.

When he arrived in the doorway Teresa was sitting the leather chair he'd vacated, and Alex was leaning on the desk; his knuckles white from the grip he had. John walked into the room, "Hey," both Alex and Teresa looked up at him surprised. "Look, I didn't' show you that letter so you could make gg feel any worse than she already does, alright. Screaming at her is not going to prove to me you are anyone I want to get to know. I have had enough of that shit in my life already." He looked over at the now nearly empty bottle. "I don't need drunks in my life either, so take a fucking breath and come get some food; Jack made enough for a god damned army. Alex, I am sorry my ma's dad was such an asshole, or that even Teresa here was an ass when she was young and dumb, but having a fucking temper tantrum is not going to win you anything. What did you need from in here gg?"

The look she gave John almost broke his heart, there was something like the unconditional love he'd only ever seen from Claire, mixed with something like admiration. It constricted his chest and made him feel extremely protective of her. "I just wanted a file folder, and to check on him… I am so sorry Alex." She started openly sobbing. John flat out didn't know what to do, so he jogged back to the kitchen and grabbed Claire. She walked into the office, dropped to her knees in front of Teresa and wrapped her arms around the old woman, holding her as she sobbed. John grabbed a couple of file folders from the second desk drawer he opened and looked at Alex Grey, who'd been staring at him since he walked back in. "You're with me, come on." John walked out of the room without any further word to Alex, but he glanced down at Claire, put his hand on the back of her head and said, "Thanks Princess, you got it from here?" Claire nodded her understanding and watched John leave as the old women kept sobbing.

John and Alex walked into the kitchen; John dropped the folders on top of the small mountain of paperwork and said, "Jack my man, this guy needs some food and a giant cup of coffee." Alex sat down in the same chair he'd left and stared at the John. "Stop fucking staring at me; it's starting to creep me out."

Jack put a plate of food and a large cup of coffee on the table in front of Alex, who looked down at it but didn't seem to see it. John brought him out of the stupor he was in by saying, "I suggest you eat up or that whiskey's gonna hit like a fucking sledge hammer very shortly." John picked up his plate, and walked over to add some food to it. He grabbed the papers and folder, and put them on the counter he'd vacated; then he sat down at the table. "I don't say shit like this very often so do me a favor and pay attention," Alex looked up at him, but did take a bite of food and a sip of coffee. "You pissed me off with your question, but I probably should have, fuck I don't know, told you rather than did what I did. You should know, I don't let people see those scars cause generally it's none of their fucking business. I've been thinking though… I ain't never really had a father that was worth a shit, and well, you don't seem like a bad dude so I am willing to get to know you, alright? Until today you were nothing more than a sperm donor in my head, and I sure as shit didn't expect to meet you or you know talk and shit, but what do you say man?" John took a bite of waffle and waited to see what Alex was going to do.

Alex was trying to process all of this in his head. He could see so much of Christina in the boy in front of him; he was wild, and probably rebellious as hell. Of course he wanted to know him; this boy was his son with the love of his life, how could he not want the opportunity to get to know him. "I … I'd be honored to get to know you, to have whatever space in your life you are willing to give me. I am, fuck, I am so sorry I wasn't able to be there for you or her. I don't know what to do here, or where to begin."

John smirked, "you might start by eating and drinking that coffee, then I might suggest calling off work because the amount of booze you drank tells me you ain't fit to be on the roads or trying to be a lawyer." That made Alex laugh, "you are probably right, I am beginning to feel a little drunk. Are you sticking around for a few days?" John ate a few more bites of food, took a long drink of his coffee and shook his head. "Claire and I have to figure out how we're getting home. We drove gg up from Shermer last night cause she looked like shit and I didn't want to let her take the drive on her own, anyway we have plans back home tonight and tomorrow is graduation day. No one believed I'd graduate on time, let alone do it before I was 18. I love showing stupid motherfuckers up. I should probably call my boss too so I don't lose my job for not showing today; I don't think we'll get back to Shermer before evening."

Alex cleaned his plate, finished his coffee and got another one before he spoke again. "I don't really know how to go about this John. I would… I would really like to get to know you. I want to be a part of your life, but I'm no prince and I would understand if you told me to fuck off. It's not like I searched the country for Christina, well ok, I kinda did, but I didn't know she was married and changed her name and all. I suppose I should have figured that out. I don't know." He ran his hands through his hair, "There a chance I can bum another cigarette from you? I've been trying to quit, but this day well fuck quitting ya know?"

John laughed, "yeah, believe me, I know. Like three months ago I could have really used some back up in my life, and hell I could use your legal knowledge now." John stood up, and asked Jack if there was a way to take like a pot of coffee outside, the chef provided a carafe for the two of them and they went out back to the patio. They sat out back talking for a while, John told him a number of things which had been going on in his life over the past year including meeting and getting to know Claire and Sarah, as well as the issues with the Stricklers. Alex let him know a bit about his past, he'd been a rebel and fell hard for Christina. When the pot of coffee was empty they agreed they should go figure out what happened to the ladies. Alex said he needed to apologize to Teresa. John stopped when he reached the door, "Dude I don't know what it is about you, cause well fuck, until gg last night, and you today, well I just don't tell people about myself, I generally figure it's none of their fucking business. I don't know, I just feel like fuck like I know you."

Alex chuckled, "If you met my old man or anyone I've ever dated they would say I don't talk about much of anything, and here this afternoon I think I have talked more than I have in damn year. I don't know if it's odd or not, but I feel like I know you too. I'd like that to continue." John smiled, "I think I can do that, but you've got a lot of years to make up for," and he elbowed Alex. The two guys walked into the house to find Claire and Teresa sitting at the table discussing plans for Saturday. John walked over to Claire grabbed her coffee cup and stole a sip then cringed at how sweet and creamy it was. "How can you drink that shit? What's all this shit about Saturday?" Claire looked up at him, "do you want a say in where people meet, where we're going to eat, etc, etc..? This is a lot of stuff Sarah and I have been discussing. Feel free to add where you like." John backed up, "fuck that, you know I am only showing up for you princess. But I am not wearing a fucking suit. I am going to dress like me under that stupid ass robe they made us buy." He was backed up to the kitchen counter next to Alex. "Are all women like this?" Alex thought about it for a minute, "the good ones I guess." That made John laugh.

"Hey Gg, we really ought to shake a leg, if we don't hit the road soon we're gonna be stuck in rush hour and that is not something I would wish on anyone, well mostly anyway. You mentioned the potential of a car to drive back, there something we can do about that?"

Teresa smiled at John, "I wish you didn't have to leave, but I understand. Does that invitation to your graduation stand, even though you think I was being nefarious?"

John shook his head, and chuckled. "I've gotten over it, kinda by talking to Alex, kinda by knowing the sonofabitch got drunk before noon, but of course gg. Got some paper? I'll leave my number." Claire piped up, "I'll give you mine as well; if Sarah doesn't know where John is, sometimes I do."

Teresa walked over to bin on the side of the refrigerator, she removed a pad of paper and a pen; she set them down on the counter and sat back down. "As for getting home, Alex take John out to the garage so he can pick a car. I really don't care which you choose, but you can drive home in it." John arched a brow, "You really don't care." She shrugged, "not really, they were all George's cars, and I don't drive any of them. You know I prefer my pretty little cat."

John hoped off the stool and Alex stood up, "this way John." They walked the opposite direction from the foyer and around a corner.

Claire looked at Teresa. "Are you feeling better?" Teresa smiled, "yes sweetheart, I feel much better. Thank you for helping me understand John a little better. I truly didn't mean to hurt him."

Claire shook her head, "it was just a lot for him at once, and we have a big weekend. He's not used to this much positive attention. I think he is waiting for something dreadful to happen."

Alex led John to a large garage which held 6 cars, ranging from a Ferrari to a Range Rover. There was a Porsche, another Jaguar, a mustang and one John couldn't identify by site. "Does she really mean any car?"

Alex nodded, "I am sure she does, since I think she's planning on selling most of these. Which do you like?" John stared at the cars, "fuck man, all o f them. I am looking at the sweet mustang over there, but I have my own that I'm working on. So it's kinda between the Ferrari and the Porsche. Which drives better?" The father and son talked about the cars for a few minutes, bonding a little. John was impressed with Alex's knowledge about the cars and even invited him down to the shop to see his project. In the end, John went with the Ferrari, because other rich sons of bitches would have their little fucking Porsches at graduation, but no one would have something as sweet at the Ferrari. The guys walked back to the kitchen to find Claire and Teresa continuing their discussion about the next day. John drank the last of his coffee, "I can't fucking believe we're graduating tomorrow, Princess. I mean I am already fucking up the expectations of asshats like Vernon or my… or Joe Bender; Come to think of it, I hope the fucker is rotting in hell."

Alex found himself in the unusual position of hating someone he'd never met and was now dead. "Teresa, I believe John and Claire need to get a move on, and you and I have yet to discuss all that paperwork." Teresa looked him over, "The paperwork can wait another day; you aren't looking very well though." Alex shrugged, "I am guessing the large amounts of consumed whiskey are getting to me. I may go lie down once we see these two off." Teresa looked at John, "Which car did you choose?" John suddenly felt a bit nervous about asking for it, but a look at Alex nodding his head, and it helped somehow, "If I could choose any of them, I'd go with the Ferrari." Teresa nodded, "good choice if you feel like standing out – feel free to keep it for graduation tomorrow."

Claire and John gathered their things, Teresa searched, but Alex found the keys to the car and handed them to John. "Enjoy the ride, it's pretty sweet. Try not to get any tickets along the way." Teresa hugged him and held on for what felt, to John, like a really long time. "I'll see you tomorrow remember gg?" She nodded, "yes, but having found you I feel hesitant to let you out of my sight." John rolled his eye and kissed the top of her head. "You'll just have to get over that. I don't expect to be disappearing anytime soon, so just fucking relax, ok?" She chuckled and nodded. "until tomorrow."

One more chapter to go... all the characters in the story will make their appearance.. let me know what you think by pressing review.. it really helps, the muses swear by it.


	42. Chapter 42

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the BC character and I make no money off of this fiction.

Sorry it's been so long getting this up. I am working without internet at home for the moment and well this took more time than I anticipated to write. Thank you to everyone who followed me through this long strange journey, I hope you enjoy this last installment.

John and Claire got settled and thoroughly enjoyed their travel in the Ferrari. It was a little later than they were hoping to leave and they got stuck in traffic, but neither of them could really bring themselves to mind. It gave them a chance to just be together and on some level debrief the last 24 hours. John started before they were even on the highway. "Do you realize we were just leaving the pizza shop after school yesterday? It feels like it was a million fucking years ago." Claire laughed, "You're right school seems like it was forever ago. Does it feel like you met gg yesterday?"

John hit palm on the steering wheel, "fuck no. Fuck it doesn't feel like I met Alex, my dad… I have a father who isn't a fucking douche bag. Cherry, I just don't understand, but there is no denying the resemblance, is there?" Claire smirked at him, "Nope, and I am going to enjoy you getting to be that good looking." She snickered a little as he cursed a blue streak. "What the fuck do you mean get to be, you know you think I am fucking hot." She burst out laughing, "you cannot get jealous of your own father John." She stroked his hair, "and you know how gorgeous I think you are. Don't worry no one can steal my affections from you."

He shook his head, "at least we don't have any assholes like gg's husband to deal with. Now don't get me wrong, you being on birth control is like the best fucking gift you could have gotten me, ever. But if something ever did happen, I can't promise I'd be a great father, the idea scares the fuck out of me. Meeting Alex today, knowing that even now, even now he has a thing for my ma. Somehow it makes it like a fucking possibility someday. I don't know."

Claire leaned over and kissed his cheek, they were quiet, or Claire was as John cussed at the traffic. Out of the blue she giggled; he glanced over at her, "what?" She shook her head, "nothing." John slalomed around some traffic and said, "Nah uh, you don't get to nothing me after giggling for no reason." Claire grinned, "what, uh, well what do you think all your stoner friends will say when they realize you come from more money than I do?" She giggled a little more. "I'm pretty sure Alex is rich, and well Gg certainly is… that means you've got like ridiculous money on both sides, and well my mom came from a very middle class background. It's one of the reasons she's been so pissed at my dad, I was eavesdropping on my dad and one of his friends. Seems his parents forced them both to sign a prenuptial agreement so my mom can't take him to the cleaners the way she wants to. Guess she had a meltdown in the lawyer's office; can't see it happening to a nicer person." There was a lot of bitterness in Claire's voice as she commented on her mother; she also rubbed her arm where the scars were. "Look babe, I am the last fucking person to talk about stellar parents and all, but well it's like I didn't know my ma at all. I only knew this stoned bitch that had been beaten down by Joe. He was a rotten fucking human being, and I am not saying you oughta forgive your ma or anything, just well I kinda got a crash course in hey there's shit you don't know kid. Ya know?"

Claire reached over and rubbed his thigh. "None of that sweets, this little lady requires my attention; just like the asshole drivers do… you keep touching me like that and I am gonna have to pull over and do something about that." She jerked her hand back, "I'd be happy to help, but if we don't get home Sarah and my dad or the rest of the breakfast club is going to call out the cavalry on us, besides didn't you get enough of me last night, and uh this morning." By the end of her statement Claire was bright red from blushing. This made John laugh almost joyously. "God damn you are fucking adorable when you blush, but Cherry I don't know if I will ever get enough of you, so you can just forget that."

Claire smirked at him, "Even after I … what is it you said…squeeze out a few puppies and push maximum density." John did a double take then went back to watching the road, "Cherry, why do you remember that shit at the weirdest times? You know I was trying to get a rise out of you, and besides, now that I know you, I can see you getting into aerobics and shit like that, you'd never let your figure get out of hand, cause then your clothes wouldn't fit." He smirked at her. "And gods forbid your clothes don't fit, you have fucking temper tantrums once a month if your jeans don't fit just fucking so." She smacked him, "you love it; you jerk." He gave her a toothy grin, and she playfully smacked him again. "You are such a brat." He replied in a mocking tone, "yeah, and you love it." Claire laid her head back on the headrest and in something of a dreamy voice she said, "Yeah, I do."

John dropped Claire off at her house in the early evening; they spent a little time driving and enjoying the car. She walked in to a note from her father stating that he and Sarah were going out for the evening. She walked up to her bedroom and looked over her closet; as much as she liked wearing John's clothes, she wanted to feel a little more girly this evening. She chose a pretty pink blouse, and a short black skirt, pairing them with a black scarf and black knee high boots. She sat down at her vanity to put on some make up when her phone rang. "Hello," she said in a voice as cheerful as her mood. Allison said, "It's about damn time I was beginning to wonder if you'd dropped off the face of the earth." Claire laughed, "So, my dad is out for the evening; do you want to come over here?"

Allison huffed at her, "Are you going to tell me where you've been?"

With a smile Allison could here, "Maybe later, it's not really my story to tell. Just trust me it's been a good day. So are you coming here or what?"

Allison grumbled a little, "Let me call Andy and Brian see if that's cool with them. What time do you want us to come by?"

Claire shrugged, even though no one could see it, "I don't know, um, like an hour or something, if you want?" Allison chuckled, "as decisive as ever I see. Let me call you back."

Allison called Andy and Brian, expecting Claire to reach Bender. The boys were both ok with meeting up at Claire's as well. Claire called John. He answered, "City morgue you stab'em, we slab'em." Claire giggled a little wondering what people who were trying to reach Sarah thought of John's method of answering. "Hi love, want to come here, apparently Dad took off for the evening. He left me a note and everything." Hearing her voice somehow made John's world just a little brighter, "Hey babe, you know I got a very similar note, but I am straight with going there if everyone else has made their decision, besides you have an Atari, cable, and a sound system. Will your old man flip if he catches us burning one?"

Claire thought about it, "Probably, but there is no reason for him to know, I bought some incense." John chuckled, "awe you did that for me?" Claire smirked even though he couldn't see it, "No, I did it for me, I like the smell of incense, and getting you high makes you more susceptible to my womanly wiles." John burst out laughing, "Your what? Never mind, I don't want to know. When should I come over?" Claire twirled the phone cord around her finger, "you could come over now; no one else should be here for like an hour. I was thinking maybe we run to the store to pick up supplies, like munchies and stuff." John chuckled in a very masculine way, "Oh, is that why you want me to come over early?" He could almost hear her blushing, "shut up and get over here." He laughed again, "Let me gather a few things here and I will be over, alright princess?"

John arrived about 20 minutes after getting off the phone with Claire. She opened the door and smiled at John in a way that told him something was not right. "What's wrong Princess? You sounded happy on the phone." She tilted her head a little, "What makes you think I am not happy now?" He shrugged, "a few things, I guess. There is a little tightness around your mouth telling me your smile isn't exactly real, your eyes aren't as bright, and well my own intuition. How's that?" Claire chuckled, "Fine, fine, I just spoke to my mother. Well I guess I listened to her after the first few comments." John pulled her into his arms and they held on for a while. "Wanna talk about it?" Claire shook her head, "I don't want to waste any of our time on her." After that comment Claire kind of blindsided John with a seriously intense kiss that made him push her up against the wall and caress her ass. She lifted her leg wrapping it around him. They pulled out of the kiss a little breathless, "do we have time?" He asked. Claire responded by kissing his neck and muttering she didn't fucking care if there was time, she wanted him. He picked her up so her legs were wrapped around his waist the position made her moan and she rubbed herself against him. He practically ran to her bedroom. John moaned into Claire's neck, kicked the door shut, and dropped her long enough to pull her panties off. He dropped to his knees, putting his head under her skirt, causing her to exclaim, "What the hell are you doing? She felt his tongue and had no further rational thoughts. He stood up undoing his pants; he then picked her back up and pushed her against the wall moving her skirt up around her waist and thrust in. She screamed, reaching the climax she so needed almost as soon as he was fully seated within her, and fifteen minutes later they were working to right their clothes. John's self satisfied smirk was matched by Claire's ravished look.

"Um, I don't think we have time to get to the store" Claire noted as they were walking down the steps to the living room. As soon as she reached the bottom step the doorbell rang. John chuckled, "so not my fault that you attacked me and wasted the time to go to the store." She responded with a mouthed 'shut up!' He laughed and walked over to open the door as she went to the kitchen to see what there was in the way of munchies since she had indeed taken up their time. However, her whole being felt better; talking to her mother put her in a funk, and when John arrived she just had an overwhelming need, she grinned to herself, which he fixed. As it turned out, Scott, the cook they'd kept, had thought ahead for her and she found lots of munchies in the house, as well as soda, and to her surprise beer. Claire knew her Dad didn't really drink beer and she wondered if it really had been left for her. Well, better to ask for forgiveness than permission she supposed. Everyone came into the kitchen after a few minutes. Much to John's surprise she handed him a beer with a wink. The evening was spent joking and having fun. They played some games, and did a lot of talking, and generally had fun, enjoying one anothers company for the last evening as high school students.

Everyone left around midnight, well everyone except John. "There is one thing I really dislike about this house Cherry." She turned around from putting what was left of the food and drinks away, "What's that?"

John chuckled, "No trellis." This made Claire giggle. "You are a brat. And we have to be up and at the convention center by like 9, and you are picking me up in the Ferrari right?" John smiled at the thought of that car. Claire found him staring at nothing, "penny for your thoughts?" He shook himself out of it, "nothing really, and everything I suppose." He kissed her gently and thoroughly, "I'll be here at quarter to nine." She saw him out, wishing he didn't have to leave. She put her head on the door; I'll see you tomorrow." Claire made her way up to bed, not realizing just how tired she was. She set her alarm and passed out.

Morning came with a burst of sunshine in John's eyes, "fuck why didn't I put the god damned blinds down. He rolled over hoping to get a little more sleep, except his alarm clock read 8:00. He had to shower and get Claire in 45 minutes, "fuck." John got into the shower, got dressed, and was ready within about 20 minutes. He walked into the kitchen to find Sarah wearing a beautiful dress, looking more relaxed than John had ever seen her. He walked right up to the coffee pot, poured himself a cup and sat down. "You look fucking great Sarah. You get laid or something?" She chuckled, "thank you John for the complement and none of your damn business." He figured better to let it go than piss her off today. "You clean up pretty good yourself." He looked at his outfit, new black jeans, a red t-shirt over a thin, black, long sleeved t-shirt. "Uh, thanks I guess." Sarah chuckled, she'd long since gotten used to John's inability to take a complement. "So I'd offer to drive, but the Ferrari really doesn't have a back seat, that alright?"

Sarah nodded and took another sip of coffee. "Rob is picking me up anyway. After the ceremony we're all going out to lunch." After taking another drink of coffee he asked, "who is we?" Sarah shrugged, "I guess whoever wants to come along, any of your friends or their parents. Last I checked your grandmother was going to be there. I don't know how many were put down on the reservation but I am sure Rob left room for whoever wanted to come along." He finished his coffee, "It's still fucked up for me to know I have family and shit, I mean family members who aren't total assholes. Christ Sarah, I haven't had the chance to tell you about the trip up to Chicago."

Sarah smiled, "It was good then?" He nodded, "Yeah fucked up, but good. On a less pleasant note, are we going to the arraignment for either of the Stricklers?" She took a deep breath; "I think we're supposed to be there, happily though, removing him from class seems to have normalized some of the other members of his clique."

"all righty then. Is that what you call it when your students begin to pull their heads out of their asses?" John asked as he stood up and began the check for all his things. "So I'll see you at Graduation, and maybe over lunch I can tell you about trip. I, uh, I met my real father." Sarah's eyebrows shot up, "when? How did that happen?"

"I'd give you the update now, but I am pretty sure Claire will bitch for years if I blow off this fucking graduation." John muttered. Sarah smiled at him, "as if I'd let you blow this off, how many people told you that you'd never graduate? And here you are doing so well before you turn 18 even. You keep telling me you like proving that these assholes don't know what they are talking about. I want to cheer as you walk across that stage." She burst out laughing at the look of dismay on John's face. "You better fucking not cheer or some shit like that!"

She smirked at him, "Yeah, yeah tough guy, what are you gonna do to stop me?" He sputtered and finally said, "Fuck it, I gotta jam. I'll see you later, I am sure you or Rob will cook up some plan to meet up with me and Claire at the convention center. I never realized how many people are in our graduating class. I don't even know most of these fuckers." Sarah laughed and shooed him out the door.

John showed up at Claire's in the sleek black Ferrari, honked twice and waited. She came running out the door in a gorgeous little pink dress with Black boots, and black gloves. She slid into the car rubbing her gloved hand on the leather interior, "I do love this car." John chuckled, "I'll bet you say that to all the guys who pick you up in sleek black Ferrari's." Claire leaned over and kissed his cheek, "Only guy's named John Bender." He smirked at her, "What do you stay to blowing this graduation crap and get a room someplace and have sex all afternoon." Claire shook her head, "as handsome as I think you look today, you know we can't just skip out. Everyone will be there." As he started the car he shrugged, "Your loss." Claire reaches over and put her hand on his thigh and rubbed it seductively, "yeah, I know exactly what I am missing out on," she moved her hand, "but we can't blow it off." John exclaimed, "god damn you are such a fucking tease. It's a fucking good thing I love you." His exclamation made Claire throw her head back in a deep throaty laugh, "yeah it is a good thing, isn't it?"

They arrived at the convention center a few minutes after nine in the morning; they were required to be there by 9:15. The parking lot was full of students, as the teacher who was supposed to open the doors hadn't yet arrived. Their arrival made exactly the statement John was looking for, a giant 'fuck you' to pretty much everyone. He and Claire got out and there were immediately whispers and comments ranging from the belief he'd stolen it to it was really Claire's car. The two of them looked at one another and burst out laughing. They headed over to where Andy and Allison were standing; Brian still had one more year of school. As they walked up hand in hand, Andy whistled, "Nice ride man, you told us you'd be arriving in style but, damn I had no idea how much style." John smirked, "I like to keep people on their toes, even people I consider friends." They bantered and joked for a few more minutes when Vernon's Buick pulled into the lot. He rushed up to the doors to unlock them and began ushering students inside. John finished his cigarette, taking his time and enjoying it before he had to go spend half the day learning how to walk down a fucking aisle.

The rehearsal was as long and tedious as everyone expected. Everyone was partnered with someone though John could see no rhyme or reason why they were paired the way they were. He was partnered with a rich chick he'd never spoken to, and had no reason to start now. She however was a chatty little bitch. He tried to ignore her, but in her ramblings he heard her say Claire's name. "What did you just say?" She sighed as though his question irritated her; "I was just talking about all the changes this year; I mean who knew that you and Claire would be Prom royalty, it's like so bizarre, and then well you show up in that car, where did it come from anyway?" John wondered if the chick ever stopped talking. He waited for a pause; none came so he went back to ignoring her. Finally everyone was ready to put on their caps and gowns, and begin the actual ceremony. Claire was so bored she thought she might die especially because she had to walk down the aisle with some jock that did nothing but complain. She wished she could have been paired to John, or really even Andy would have been ok. She kept forgetting the name of the guy she was pair, and the crowd of people was beginning to make her feel anxious. She didn't see any sign of Strickler which made it a little easier to take.

Principal Anderson and Vice Principal Vernon were on stage as the ceremony began. Anderson gave a speech, and then it was time to call names and hand out the diplomas. Vernon handed the diploma to Anderson; Vernon shook each student's hand as Anderson was reading their name. Then Anderson handed them the diploma, and they walked off stage and to the left or right to an assigned seat in one of the first 5 rows the students took up. Anderson had asked that all clapping be held till all names were called, but that never seems to work, and it didn't for Shermer's graduating class of 83. John Bender was the first of the breakfast club to be called; he walked across the stage with a smirk on his face to match the shock on Vernon's. Vernon was so stunned looking that he forgot to put his hand out to Bender, causing the principal to clear his throat, but Bender walked by him to Anderson and still managed to surreptitiously give Vernon the finger, if the asshole had the right to look shocked, he had the right to flip him the bird. He shook hands with Anderson and raised his fist as he trotted down the steps. When they called his name a whole group of burnouts, who were friends from the bleachers and had snuck into the graduations started whooping and hollering for him. The cheering had continued and as he got to the bottom step he realized a bunch of people were standing and clapping. He gave them a snarky bow and went to his seat. Nothing Anderson said to quiet the crowd worked till Bender gave his bow. When Andrew Clark's name was called the athlete's whooped and hollered for him till Anderson told them to pipe down. There was no cheering for Allison, though a handful of people stood and clapped, and there was no whooping and hollering for Claire either, just quiet clapping from the crowd but none of the outrageous noise made for the boys. John wondered just how fucked up the world had become when he got more praise than Claire.

After everyone had their diploma Anderson spoke a few more words of complete crap in John's opinion and it was done. Everyone threw their caps in the air, though it was much funnier to watch them try to catch them. John caught his easily, as did Andy, Allison hadn't thrown hers at all and Claire was presently looking for hers; she'd marked it with an X in pink highlighter so she'd know which was hers if it got lost. Andy managed to find it a row behind where Claire was looking. All put together they met up, hugged, and walked outside to meet their parents. Andy was enveloped by his mother almost immediately, and his dad punched his arm and said "good going champ." He pulled away and pulled Allison close to him. Her parents hadn't shown up. John and Claire left the couple and went looking for their own group of people. Bender was stopped by his friends and given lots of pats on the back and a surprise gift of a quarter that everyone had put in for him, telling him he'd be missed beneath the bleachers. He laughed and commented that his contacts would anyway. He managed to extricate himself to see Claire standing back waiting. "You could have foraged on ahead princess." She smiled and shrugged. "I like watching you." He shook his head, "that's fucking creepy ya know?" She punched him lightly in the arm and then linked hers with it. "Ready?" John shook his head, "I don't have much choice now do I?"

When they found Claire's father he was standing with Sarah, Teresa, and Alex. Robert pulled his daughter into a great bear hug and told her how proud he was of her. Sarah walked up to John, "Can I hug you, in public just this once?" He pulled her into a hug and told her to shut the fuck up, of course she fucking could and not to be stupid. He also allowed his Grandmother to hug him, well she was his grandmother and she'd been really cool so far. She quietly commented, "I called the number you gave me, but apparently you'd already left. John asked if he might be allowed to attend and Sarah agreed, is that ok?" John shrugged, "Whatever Gg; besides I figure someone has to drive the car back up to Chi town." Her next remark floored him, "I was wondering if you would accept it as a graduation gift; I don't have any use for it, and you can sell it or use it or use it for parts, but it's yours." He was truly fucking stunned. She just gave him a Ferrari with all the fanfare of a used ford. He returned to the twilight zone. The idea of just how much money this woman must have blew his mind. "uh, Thanks… fuck me…" he hugged her again. "Goddamn that's an amazing fucking gift." Alex walked forward and held out his hand to shake John's. In the other hand he had an envelope. "I don't have a Ferrari to give you, but uh, here and congratulations." John pocketed the envelope to look at later; Robert had finished hugging Claire and was waiting to shake John's hand as well. The two shook hands and Robert said, "Congrats John, I am happy to see you get done with this place. When you first showed up kissing my daughter that Saturday afternoon I didn't give you the credit you deserve." John held up his hand, "so much shit has happened since then Rob, I think we might have been different people than we are now. I was everything you feared that day; let's just say I turned over a new leaf and so did you." Robert handed him an envelope which he pocketed same as with Alex's. "So are we going to eat sometime today and who all is going?" Claire piped up, watching the interactions of Andy's family. "If Andy's family turns out to be giant jerks can we bring Allison along?"

Sarah said, "Of course, anyone is welcome, you left the reservation open right Robert?" He nodded. Claire grabbed John's hand, "let's go say congrats to them one more time?" He dutifully followed her over towards Andy's family. As it turns out the Clark parents were arguing; his old man wanted him to work out and his mother was arguing he should get to enjoy his big day. Claire tugged on Allison, "Hey, wanted to say congrats and stuff. Also, well do you want to come to dinner with us? Or are you hanging with Andy?" Allison shrugged, "depends on who wins the argument, I think."

Andy turned towards them; he stuck out his hand to John, "Congrats man." John shook his hand, "same to you Sporto. So, I think the two of you could probably escape without them even being aware at least till you're long gone." Andy gave him a look, and then turned back to his folks. "Hey, if you two want to argue all day Ali and I will just take off. Dad, I am not working out to day. I got the damn scholarship; there is no way to blow my ride so just relax." His father got red faced, "Just because you graduated doesn't mean you get to talk to me anyway you want." His mother put her hand on his old man's arm. She nodded at him, "if you want to go with your friends just go." Andy grabbed Allison's hand and turned towards John and Claire. Allison commented, "Andy's invited too, right?" Claire nodded, "of course, let's go."

The four walked back to the group waiting for them. Claire spoke first, "Dad, it's not a problem for our friends to come is it?" He responded with, "of course not. We were just determining who was driving or chauffeuring really." Andy had his truck so he and Allison would follow John and Claire since they'd driven in together. They went to a very expensive Italian restaurant; Andy started to comment that he'd have to bow out since he couldn't afford it when Teresa spoke up that she would be picking up the tab for the meal so there was no need for a new graduate to worry about, and then she proceeded to introduce herself.

The group was seated at a large table in the back of the restaurant. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves immensely. As soon as he finished eating John stood up and walked outside, without commenting to anyone what he was doing or why. Everyone started to ask what the problem was when Claire put her hand up to stop them all. "He probably went outside for a cigarette why don't we just give him some space." Sarah gave her a look of thanks to which Claire nodded in response. After a few minutes, Claire excused herself and followed him outside. She found John pacing and smoking. "Hey hottie got a few minutes for a girl who just graduated?" He stopped and stared at her for a minute, shook his head as though trying to clear it, and said, "Hey princess." Afterwards he sat on the bench which was next to the ashtray. "It was all just too much in there. Alex and Teresa chatting up everybody as though they hadn't just fucking appeared; I mean, I think I am used to your Dad and Sarah, and well Sporto and Allison I don't really mind, but I'm just not used to all this shit." Claire sat down next to him, "Want to take off? I could go in and tell my Dad and I figure he and Sarah could make excuses."

He looked up at her, as though studying her for a minute. "You'd do that? Just take off with me?"

Claire shrugged, "sure, it's supposed to be our day isn't it? The only person I really want to spend it with is you. I'm feeling weird cause my mom's not here, and well it's a little strange that Teresa and Alex are acting like they've always been around, but I didn't think you minded." John stubbed out his cigarette, "I didn't think I minded either, but well I've had this fucked up life for nearly 18 years and then out of nowhere all this money is being thrown around. Where, the fuck, were they when I had to go hungry? Or try to set my own fucking leg? I don't know. I just, fuck, maybe if I smoke a bowl it will be easier, but I just don't want to go back in there." Claire kissed his cheek, "wait here or get the car and pull it up, I'll go let my Dad or Sarah and well Andy and Allison know we're leaving." She started to walk back in and he grabbed her, "You don't have to do this for me, you know." She nodded, "yeah, I know. Is it ok that I want to?" Her question made him chuckle, "do what you want Cherry, and uh, thanks."

Claire walked back in and grabbed Sarah and Allison, the three of them went to the ladies room. "I am letting you know that John and I are taking off. He's apparently had enough of family time and seems to really need to escape. I think he didn't expect Alex to be here, but I wanted to let you know. I'll direct him back to your place eventually. Sorry Al, but well he just…"Allison shook her head, "I have met Bender before and I was surprised by all the family stuff and how he was dealing with it." Claire looked at Sarah, will you…" Sarah nodded, "don't worry; I'll take care of it. The meal is almost over anyway." Claire slipped out the front door while Sarah and Allison came back to the table. Robert noted the lack of Claire, "is everything alright?"

Sarah sort of shook her head from side to side, "Claire and John made their escape for the day. I think they were hoping to spend most of it together and didn't know how to get out of the family party." She gave Robert a look saying she'd explain more later. Teresa looked a little sad, but seemed to take it in stride. Alex on the other hand said, "He couldn't even come in and say goodbye? That's a little rude isn't it?" Sarah gave him a leveled look, "you met John, what, yesterday? You have little idea what his life was like up to this point. This," she pointed to the restaurant and everyone at the table, "has never been a part of his life. He sat here politely for more than two hours, that's actually progress. I can think of a time he wouldn't have been caught dead in a place like this." Andy spoke up, "well maybe to rob it." Allison told him, "Shut it." Teresa sighed, "I thought it was too easy. Do you think he'd be willing to talk to me tomorrow?" Sarah shrugged, "probably, all you can do is try, and please be patient if you want to be a part of his life." Alex started to comment again, and Teresa put up her hand in the same way Claire had earlier. "He's been remarkably patient, and he wasn't expecting you today. Give the boy a break, as far as his world goes he just lost his parents and things have been, as I understand it, quite difficult for him in the past few months." Sarah quietly commented, "This is John being nice. He could have come back in here and been a really rude asshole; instead he removed himself from the situation. Be grateful because he can cut to the quick when he is so inclined."

The party broke up shortly after; Allison and Andy expressed their gratitude and made their exit first. Teresa paid for the meal after arguing briefly with Robert about it. She won the argument by commenting that as she understood it he had a divorce to pay for and a daughter about to go off to college, the very least she could do was pick up the check for a meal. They'd renewed the acquaintance they'd had years before and she knew she could trump him in the checkbook arena. Afterward, Alex and Teresa stood up to leave, she handed Sarah two envelopes for John, one from her and one from Alex. She explained that the cards she'd given John were only part of what they had to give. She handed an additional card to Robert for Claire. After they'd left, Sarah sat back and looked at Robert, "well that actually went better than I'd expected." He arched a brow. "Apparently John had simply had enough; I suspect he didn't know how to make a graceful exit and so Claire came in to let me know that they were leaving, I think he'd have left anyway."

John drove the Ferrari back to Sarah's and the two of them went into his room. He packed and smoked a bowl; Claire shared a few hits, but moved behind him and began giving him a back rub while he talked about all kinds of things. He was angry that Alex had shown up without warning. He had extended the invite to his Grandmother since she seemed like a cool old bird, while she might have been an ass when his mother was his age, but the death of her old man did something to put her head on straight. After Claire massaged his shoulders for a little while he tackled her and the two spent most of the afternoon in bed, having their own kind of celebration.

Robert invited Sarah back to his place for a while. Her duties were done and Monday was going to be a tough day. Monday was finally the arraignment for Tom Strickler who was sticking to his lies that he'd done nothing wrong. Earlier that week, Jason Strickler had plead no contest to the assault charges against him from both John and Claire and pissed the judge off in the process by stating, against his lawyers best advice, that he should have been allowed to finish punishing both little brats. He was sentenced to 3 years of jail time and the judge commented that he was getting off lightly. Robert and Sarah talked a little about how easy the first Strickler court date was, but other than that they ended up spending the rest of the day simply enjoying one another's company.

Tom Strickler's case ended up going to a full scale trial that lasted several weeks. Each member of the breakfast club, Sarah, Kevin Morganstern, Mike Talmand and all of the team members involved were subpoenaed. The trial was unpleasant, though Tommy looked smug for the first few days while the defense presented their case. However, he looked more and more worried as each witness for the prosecution was called. Sarah had a very hard time on the witness stand, but made it through. The Strickler's expected a court appointed attorney to handle Sarah's case since she was on a teacher's salary. They didn't expect a talented, high powered prosecutor from Chicago. Because the assault was premeditated Tom Strickler was charged as an adult and sentenced to 5 years in prison, two of the other team members who'd been primary in the in assault were sentenced to a year each. Tommy sat stunned, he never believed he had a chance of losing, his mother was sobbing have just lost her husband for assault as well.

It was finally over, Sarah couldn't believe it. She ended up sitting down and crying in relief outside of the courthouse. Robert sat down next to her, wrapped his arms around her and let her cry on his shoulder. John and Claire followed, leaned against a pillar and watched. "So, you think there's something between them?" John asked as he lit a cigarette. His voice was closer to how it used to sound but there was a new gravelly quality the doctors said might always be there. Claire put her head on his shoulder, "I don't know, I think my Dad has a thing for her, but I doubt he'll do anything about it till the divorce is final." John looked at Claire with his head tilted, "your old lady still hasn't signed those papers." She shook her head, but didn't say anything more. Mrs. Strickler walked out of the courtroom and stopped in front of the two of them. "This is all your fault. Why did you have to get involved? Someday when you're not looking, I hope my boys pay you back for it." The hatred in her voice made Claire move closer into John's embrace. He wasn't cowed however, "Look bitch, if either of them come near us they'll either wind up dead or back in prison. I don't care which, but don't ever fucking speak to either of us again or you'll regret it." She put her nose in the air and walked away.

Over the next year John and Claire continued to grow closer. The envelopes from Teresa contained information about his mother's safe deposit boxes and two round trip tickets to Europe for the summer. Alex wrote a long letter to John and gave him a check for ten grand. The amount floored John, and he gave it to Rob to "do whatever magic it is he did with money." Claire and John used the tickets to Europe and had an amazing summer basically bumming around Europe with more money than John had ever had in his life. John's unique, if somewhat filthy, perspective kept Claire laughing and her abilities with etiquette and people got them pretty much anything they wanted. When they returned there was a newly budding relationship between Sarah and Robert. Karen had finally signed the papers after she met a man she moved in with, Claire wanted even less to do with her mother after meeting the guy once.

John turned 18 about a month before Claire did. They got a nice apartment, Claire started college, and John continued working at the auto shop, working his way up to management. They continued to have a passionate relationship though they made an agreement, since neither wanted to end up like their parents; they had to leave the apartment to fight. They lived close to a park, where they sometimes had spectacular screaming matches, but the other rule was they never went to bed mad. It sometimes led to a day or more without sleep, but it also made them really consider how they interacted. Everyone was surprised at how well their relationship worked and when John was ready to give up he was reminded how nice it felt to fuck up other people's expectations. He developed a relatively close relationship with his grandmother, as did Claire. This apparently pissed off his uncle who called him a good for nothing once and was summarily thrown out of Teresa Oliver's house.

On March 24, 1986 John Bender proposed to Claire Standish. The following winter Teresa Oliver passed away in her sleep. While John was sad, he took it in stride like everything else in his life. He'd kept up a decent relationship with Alex Grey, though they were not close. Claire chalked it up to the strange amount of similarity between the two; John said it was because he was really kind of an asshole. Teresa left her son enough so he'd never have to work again, but she left all of her jewelry and clothes to Claire to do with as she saw fit, and the rest to John. Her son and his wife had such temper tantrums that George jr. ended up giving himself a heart attack right there in Grey's office. John thought it was hysterical, but apparently no one else agreed. He privately though his grandmother would have.

A year after he proposed Claire and John were married in an elaborate, if small ceremony. The entirety of the Breakfast Club was in attendance. Andy and Allison's relationship had not lasted his first year of college but she seemed quite happy living as a single artist in New York. Brian was in his last year at MIT, and Claire was almost finished with her degree in clothing design. As it turned out, John ended up richer than he could have ever dreamed possible on the nights he went hungry and beaten while living with his mother and Joe Bender. The investments into various computer enterprises paid out in spades, topped off with all that Teresa had left him the new couple never had to worry about money. Though John taught Claire how to save, and still bitched when she shopped too much.

Shortly after their first anniversary Claire informed him that she was pregnant. They moved into a modest house near where Claire grew up. As the years passed and their family grew they attended Brian's wedding, Andy's wedding, and the wedding of Robert Standish to Sarah Dearing. The last was only strange when Claire ended up with a half brother a year younger than her oldest daughter. The two Strickler men were released from jail, but Tom ended up going back on another aggravated assault and rape charge less than a year after he was released. Claire commented in passing that apparently money didn't buy everything. John agreed with her, he said, "Money provides different avenues than poverty does, but only love offers other options."


End file.
